Americans Seek Big Changes In Immigration Policy After Election: I&I/TIPP Poll

Among the many different issues that have roiled the electorate in this 2020 midterm-election cycle, perhaps none has had as large an impact as illegal immigration. American voters are fed up with the status quo and want major changes made, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.

Given the more than 500% increase in illegal crossings in the last five years, we asked poll respondents what should be done about the "costly disruption of border cities, human trafficking, higher crime and suspected terrorists crossing the border."

One answer stood out as unworkable to the 1,359 voters who answered the online I&/TIPP Poll, taken from Nov. 2-4: "Keep the current policy in place," which was supported by only 11% of those responding. The poll has a margin of error of +/-2.8 percentage points.

So which policy responses were most popular among voters?

Among the five possible answers, 45% responded that "Close the border to all illegal entrants and immediately deport those who are caught," making that the No. 1 response.

That response was followed by "Implement a temporary worker visa program to allow in those that have skills that fit into our economy," not far behind at 36% of the responses.

The third most cited response was "Build a wall, close the border," at 29%. "None of the above" garnered 11% support.

Not surprisingly, while most respondents wanted something new done to stanch the flow of illegal entrants into the U.S., which reached 2.7 million in the 2002 fiscal year, political affiliation had a big impact on how the answers broke down.

For instance, the policy response of "Close the border to all illegal entrants and immediately deport those who are caught," received support from just 31% of Democrats, compared to 67% of Republicans. As is often the case, independents were somewhere in the middle, at 41%.

As for implementing a temporary visa program to let in skilled workers, that was most favored by Democrats, at 44%, while just 23% of Republicans chose that as the best path forward. Independents were closer to the Democrats, at 40%.

"Build a wall, close the border"? Just 15% of Democrats liked that response, versus 52% of Republicans and 24% of independents.

As for the "status quo," 18% of Democrats said that would be best, while just 4% of Republicans and 9% of independents agreed.