New Poll Finds Biden Is Losing the Discussion on the Border

The poll found that now only 20% of Americans think the US has control over its own border, a number that has fallen from 34% of Americans in just eight months.

Voters were asked: “Do you believe the United States has control over its borders?” 63% of respondents said no while only 20% said yes. 13% of respondents answered “I don’t know” to the question.

A 53 percent majority of those who voted for Biden in 2020 answered “no” to this question. This survey was conducted on April 11 and recorded responses from 1,500 eligible voters.

“The death of the $118 billion immigration bill in February reminded many Americans of the complete inadequacies of Washington to deal comprehensively with the nation’s immigration challenges. Not only do fewer voters think that the country has control over its border. The issue has also become more salient,” Gift said.

“According to Gallup, 28 percent of respondents now list immigration as America’s most important problem, more than double the number who said that last fall. The same poll shows that respondents are twice as likely to say immigration is the country’s top problem compared to the economy in general. Other issues—from abortion to Russia’s war in Ukraine, to the Israel-Hamas conflict—barely register in comparison,” said Gift.

Earlier in his presidency, Biden tried to downplay the extent of the issue. In 2021, The White House had to backtrack after Biden accidentally used the word ‘crisis’ when talking about the border.

“No, there is no change in position. Children coming to our border seeking refuge from violence, economic hardships, and other dire circumstances is not a crisis,” a White House official told CNN in 2021.

In January of this year, Biden disagreed with his own Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ testimony when Mayorkas said the border was secure. In recent years, The White House has shifted from downplaying the problem to blaming a “broken” immigration system and demanding it is something that Congress needs to fix.

Just last week a 2nd impeachment attempt was underway, but it was ultimately dismissed in the Senate before it could really get started over questions of constitutionality.

In March, he made comments calling some undocumented immigrants “not people” and has framed the situation at the border as an escalating crisis that threatens American well-being and sovereignty in a major way; placing the blame squarely at Biden and Democrats’ feet.

Pew Research also found recently that 45% of Americans describe the situation at the border as a ‘crisis’ and 32% say it is a “major problem.”

However, some in his base would also express negativity if Biden did anything harsh to “crackdown” on the border, making it hard for him to take clear steps to address the problem himself. This is one reason he has wanted to rely on Congress. However, Congress has seen a border spending bill torpedoed in recent months due to the influence of Trump and Republican disagreements resulting in little progress being made.