Immigration has surged beyond federal government actions as the most important issue facing the United States, according to a new poll released Tuesday, marking the first time in nearly five years that the issue has achieved that status. .
Every Month gallup survey We found that 28% of U.S. adults are most concerned about immigration, compared to 20% who said the same in January, making it the only issue to significantly increase in importance over this period. be.
The groups that say immigration is the most important issue include a majority of Republicans (57%), 22% of independents, and 10% of Democrats.
Last year, government was the top issue cited by Americans through December, when it tied for the top spot with immigration, and again the following month.
The highest percentage of Americans say immigration is the biggest problem facing the United States since Gallup began polling this question in 1981.
The last time concerns about immigration approached current levels was in July 2019, when 27% of respondents said immigration was the most important issue.
The survey also found that a record 55% of American adults say the “large number of immigrants who enter the United States illegally” poses a serious threat to the nation’s vital interests. became. The previous high was 50%, recorded in 2004.
By party affiliation, 90% of Republicans say illegal immigration is a serious threat, as do 54% of independents and 29% of Democrats.
Gallup also found that 12% of Americans think the economy is the most important issue, with 11% citing inflation. Only 26% of U.S. adults describe their current economic situation as “excellent” or “good,” while 73% describe it as “fair” or “poor.”
At the same time, 61% said economic conditions are worsening. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index has risen 19 points since October, but remains below the surface at -22 points.
President Biden is struggling with an approval rating of 38%, an all-time low, and the survey also revealed that his approval rating for handling U.S. immigration policy is at a record low of 28%.
Mr. Biden, 81, met with Congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday to discuss pressing government funding, including funding for the Department of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and the Army. We talked about deadlines. Corps of Engineers, scheduled to end Friday at 11:59 p.m.
“We cannot risk a government shutdown,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told conference participants, but conservative Republican lawmakers said leadership is slowing down domestic spending and national defense. It wants to “fight” rising spending.
Congressman Chip Roy (R-Texas) Published in X As for the leadership’s spending proposal, he said he would “accept spending ‘side deals'” and increase federal spending by $30 billion from the previous fiscal year by increasing the defense budget.
He said the bill, which has more support from Democrats than Republicans, is “likely to pass,” but it does not address border issues or reform the warrantless surveillance of Americans’ data under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). added that it has failed.
Mr Roy and other fiscal hawks have urged Johnson to use a side agreement included in last year’s debt ceiling deal to lock in domestic spending cuts if a continuing resolution is passed until September 30, the end of the fiscal year. We are asking you to make use of it.
The current approval rating for U.S. lawmakers is 12%, the third lowest in Gallup history.
According to Gallup, Congress’ approval rating hit an all-time low of 9% in November 2013, following the government shutdown caused by the fight over the Affordable Care Act.
On Thursday, Biden will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, to meet with Border Patrol agents, local law enforcement and elected leaders and call on Congress to pass a bipartisan Senate bill on border security.
A $118 billion national security bill that included military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan failed to pass the Senate earlier this month after a majority of Republicans opposed the bill.
Another $95 billion package passed in the Senate, but Johnson held it back from a floor vote, saying his caucus would “take it upon itself” on national security supplements, including border provisions.
Both Senate and House Republicans scrapped an original border proposal that would have provided benefits to nongovernmental groups that shelter and resettle migrants in the United States and codified the Biden administration’s asylum policy.
Since then, a bipartisan group of House members introduced a slimmed-down $66 billion bill with foreign military aid and border security funding before the House adjourned last week.
Since Biden took office in January 2021, more than 7.2 million immigrants have entered the United States from Mexico, with monthly arrivals hitting a record high of more than 300,000 in December.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,106 U.S. adults from February 1 to 20 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
