McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Recent polls show most Americans favor border security but want “balanced” approaches to detention and deportation of immigrants, and a pathway for citizenship for those who have paid U.S. taxes for years.
During a call with America’s Voice on Thursday, polling experts said Democrats have lost Americans’ trust when it comes to border security. But polls also found that the Trump administration’s approach to ridding the country of undocumented immigrants is too hard core and many don’t support it.
A poll released by Navigator Research on July 10, found a majority of voters want a balanced approach to enforcement and deportation of immigrants. The poll, conducted June 26-30, found nearly two-thirds favor an approach that is not just strict enforcement.
Nearly 60% said they favor a balanced approach, and only 33% favor strict enforcement. The question asked if they favor an approach “that focuses on deporting those who have committed serious crimes, while still upholding American values like treating people humanely and ensuring due process” and one that allows a pathway for citizenship for those who have been in the country working and paying taxes. (8% poll said they didn’t know.)
Of those polled, 80% of Democrats, 39% of Republicans and 55% of Independents favor a balanced approach.
However, when asked if they want a balanced approach that also fixes the “broken immigration system,” 66% favored that, and only 25% favor strict enforcement. Over half of Republicans, 52%, want it; 77% of Democrats favor it. The poll found 72% of Independents also favor it.
“That balanced approach beats the strict enforcement 2 to 1,” said pollster Nick Gourevitch, president of research and insights for Global Strategy Group and pollster for Navigator Research.
“This has been the path to winning public opinion on this issue is that people do have security concerns. They are concerned about the border, they are concerned about criminals, you cannot completely ignore those concerns. But they do want balance and they do want a functioning legal immigration system that is orderly and humane. And if you present that as the alternative to an enforcement-only approach, it wins pretty easily,” he said.
Voting experts say lawmakers must use this data to craft immigration reform going forward.
“This is the moment for policymakers to offer a way forward. There is a real opening for leaning into the issue and articulating a vision for balanced solutions that Americans support: a common sense plan that secures our border, strengthens our economy and rewards hard work with a path to legalization and citizenship. This formulation of solutions on immigration also happens to have broad support, including among Latino voters,” said Vanessa Cardenas, executive director of America’s Voice.
The Navigator poll found both Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly favor focusing deportation efforts on those with serious criminal convictions. Of those polled, 78% favor deporting criminals. That included 74% of Democrats polled and 71% of Republicans. The poll also found:
- 72% want immigration policies that allow immigrants with legal status to not be targeted for deportation. This includes 79% of Democrats; and 52% of Republicans.
- 68% favor a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers and other essential workers, including 79% of Democrats; 54% of Independents; and 36% of Republicans.
- Only 21% of Republicans polled want undocumented immigrants who have been working and following the law to apply for legal status, as opposed to 75% polled.
America’s Voice cited 13 different polls that show growing disapproval of the Trump administration on immigration issues.
“Multiple public opinion polls show that Trump is now underwater on immigration. The public’s message is clear: The more Americans see the mass deportation machine in action, the more they reject it,” Cardenas said.
But community safety still remains a priority among Americans, and Democrats have lost the public’s trust, said Lanae Erickson, senior vice president for social policy, education and politics at Third Way.
“Trump’s numbers are softening on immigration,” but they’re “not softening on border security,” Erickson said.
“America is souring on Trump’s handling of immigration, but Democrats can’t take advantage of that opportunity until they restore voters’ confidence that they can be trusted to handle the issue responsibly. To do that, they must stand strongly on the side of public safety while highlighting the ways that Trump’s chaos is making our communities less safe,” Erickson said.
Erickson added that labeling communities “sanctuary cities” does not resonate with voters. “People are concerned about public safety. They don’t care of support of sanctuary cities or not. They don’t understand it,” Erickson said. “They want to hear that lawmakers are supporting keeping communities safe.”
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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