More voters cited immigration than inflation as their biggest policy concern in January, according to a Harvard CAPS-Harris poll released Monday.
In the survey, 35% of respondents cited immigration as their top concern among a variety of issues, with inflation a close second, cited by 32% of respondents.
Immigration has surged as an issue, jumping 7 percentage points in the list compared to the previous month's survey.
After immigration and inflation, “economy and jobs” was cited as the top concern by 25% of those surveyed, “crime and drugs” and health care were each cited by 16% of respondents, and budget deficits and national security were each cited by 14% of respondents. %Met. Corruption and the environment were each named by 13% of those surveyed.
However, when asked what issues affect them personally, respondents cited inflation most frequently.
Twice as many respondents (38%) said inflation has a direct impact, compared to 17% who cited immigration. The number of people who say immigration has had a direct impact has increased by 3 percentage points since the previous survey.
10% of respondents cited crime and climate change as things that directly impact them, while abortion and racial justice were each cited by 7%.
The pivot to immigration reflects both a political environment that is aligning border policy as a central issue and a decline in inflation that has somewhat dampened the issue's political influence.
Both issues are at the forefront of Republican attacks on President Biden, who faces re-election with dangerously low approval ratings.
According to a Harris
This is despite the fact that its line of attack has slowed, with inflation objectively slowing from a year-on-year high of 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.4% in December.
Republicans and some Democrats (including big city mayors) keep immigration in the headlines, conveying a sense of crisis that is entrenched among large segments of the population.
And the Republican-established immigration success-or-failure metric — monthly border encounters — has largely been accepted by the Biden administration.
These encounters have remained high throughout Biden's presidency, but have been more or less stable since fiscal year 2022, when U.S. border officials had 2,378,944 encounters with migrants entering the country without prior authorization.
In fiscal year 2023, authorities reported 2,475,669 encounters, and the first reported numbers for fiscal year 2024 show similar numbers, albeit slightly higher in October and November. Homeland Security officials said there was a lull in encounters in January, though official numbers have not yet been reported, in line with expected seasonal fluctuations.
But a majority of voters said they believed migrants at the border were exacerbating the problem.
According to the poll, 64% of respondents said the situation at the border is getting worse, 23% said the situation remains the same, and only 13% said the situation at the border is improving. .
There is a wide partisan divide on this issue, with 81% of Republicans, 68% of Independents, and 45% of Democrats saying the situation is getting worse, and 34% of Democrats saying the situation is not changing. , 21% said the situation was improving.
Additionally, 68% of respondents said the administration should get tougher on illegal immigration into the United States, and 32% said it should maintain current border policies.
Majorities of Republicans and independents (85% and 71%, respectively) want stronger border security, but Democrats are split 50-50 on whether they want it.
The numbers are a boost for bipartisan Senate border policy negotiators who say they are close to a deal that has been heavily criticized as tough but ineffective by immigration advocates and Hispanic members of Congress. .
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
