Most think immigration good for country; some want less: poll

(NewsNation) — A majority of Americans consider immigration a good thing for the country and feel positive about it, according to a Gallup poll, although a growing minority want to see it decreased.

On the whole, Gallup found, most people surveyed were supportive of immigration and its effect on the country. Two-thirds consider it a good thing, while 27% see it as a bad thing.

At the same time, the number of people who see it as positive in 2023, 68%, is down from its peak of 77% in 2020, and is the lowest Gallup recorded since 63% in 2014. This is still higher, Gallup noted, than it was from 2001 through 2012.

This did differ along party lines: of those who consider immigration a bad thing, 43% are Republicans, compared to 10% of Democrats and 28% of Independents. However, Gallup wrote, half of Republicans asked do consider immigration to be good.

Immigration has already emerged as a highly talked-about topic in the 2024 presidential election. As NewsNation partner The Hill reports, GOP frontrunners former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have already gone head-to-head, trying to prove who’s tougher when it comes to cracking down on unlawful border crossings.

DeSantis’ immigration proposal calls for an end to birthright citizenship, and he has endorsed using “deadly force” against migrants suspected of drug trafficking. Trump, meanwhile, accused his main rival of ripping off his own immigration policies. A hard-line position on migration is seemingly what Republicans are looking for in a presidential candidate: Gallup’s poll shows 73% of those in the party want less immigration.

Meanwhile, Democrats have called for increased legal pathways to citizenship for migrants. A bipartisan bill, the Dignity Act of 2023, which was introduced in May, aims to revamp the nation’s border, streamline asylum claims and create a new legal status.

Previous Gallup polls have shown similar partisan divides on immigration.

Gallup’s newest survey was conducted after Title 42, a policy allowing migrants to be turned away on public health grounds, expired on May 11. Border officials and politicians initially predicted a surge of migration across the southern border, but this didn’t end up happening. Crossings actually dipped dramatically in the days after Title 42 ended.

Over the years, though, there have been record numbers of migrants being encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border.

With this being the case, Gallup found, 41% of people now say they want to see a decline in immigration. That’s the highest it’s been since 2014, Gallup said. Still, .Gallup said, most people asked want to see immigration stay at its present level or even increase.