As the new Republican-led House begins a series of hearings investigating President Biden’s policies regarding the country’s southern border, the latest Fox News Poll finds sizable majorities concerned about illegal immigration and border security, and nearly half see the situation there as a national security crisis.
The survey, released Thursday, finds by a 5-point margin that voters describe the situation at the southern border as a national security crisis (47%) rather than a humanitarian one (42%).
Partisan views are not monolithic. Most Republicans (70%) think the situation is a national security crisis, while 18% view it as a humanitarian issue. Most Democrats, on the other hand, view it through a humanitarian lens (69%), while 23% think it is primarily a security issue.
Hispanic voters are slightly more likely to think the situation is a national security crisis (52%) than humanitarian (41%).
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At the same time, a record share think the U.S. should increase the number of legal immigrants allowed to move here. Forty-three percent feel that way, up 15 points from 2013 (the last time the question was asked on a Fox survey). Still, a larger portion of voters, 49%, think the U.S. should decrease the number allowed to enter.
Much of the shift comes from Democrats. Sixty-three percent favor more legal immigration, up from 35% in 2013. Republican support for legal immigration stands at 28%, up from 18% a decade ago.
Majorities of Republicans (66%), White evangelical Christians (58%), and independents (55%) think the U.S. should decrease legal immigration.
What do voters think is the reason for the southern border situation? Fifty-two percent say political and economic factors in migrants’ home countries are the primary driver of the crisis, while 45% blame Biden administration policies.
This is a reversal from last year when slightly more voters blamed Biden (49% to 46%).
The change comes mainly from voters ages 65 and over (+12), voters under age 30 (+11), women (+9), and Democrats and Republicans (+8 each) being more likely to say it has to do with issues in the home countries.
The House Judiciary Committee held the first part of its review on Biden’s border policies on February 1, with the House Oversight Committee set to conduct its own hearing February 7.
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While Biden’s marks have held steady for the past year, border security and illegal immigration (35% approve vs. 61% disapprove each) are among his worst. He does better on the Russia-Ukraine situation (45-51%) and the economy (37-61%), and worse on inflation (31-66%).
Biden’s overall job rating stands at 45% approve vs. 54% disapprove.
"Voters are not fools, and they clearly believe we need both improved border security as well as a better immigration policy," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. "We’ll see if the president and Congress appreciate and account for the two-step nature of the issue."
Two-thirds are extremely or very concerned about border security (65%) and illegal immigration (63%) -- yet they land at the bottom in a list of nine issues. For border security, results have held steady since October, while concern over illegal immigration is down from a high of 71% in May 2022.
Inflation (86%), higher crime rates (80%), political divisions (78%), the opioid addiction crisis (76%), the debt limit (68%), the Russia-Ukraine situation (68%), and gun laws (66%) all rank higher.
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Conducted January 27-30, 2023, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with 1,003 registered voters nationwide who were randomly selected from a voter file and spoke with live interviewers on both landlines and cellphones. The total sample has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
