President Joe Biden tried to address a major liability for his reelection campaign by taking executive action to significantly restrict asylum at the US-Mexico border. But it’s unclear whether his efforts will be enough to change the minds of voters, who have increasingly voiced alarm over the record influx of migrants under his watch. Polls have found immigration and border security to be a top issue this election year, one that has been seized on by former President Donald Trump and his campaign.
Biden has shifted far to the right on immigration since his winning campaign four years ago, when he criticized Trump’s immigration priorities and promised he would restore asylum protections. Many Democrats acknowledge Biden now faces a very different political reality, even as key parts of his base push him to repudiate border restrictions and compare his move to Trump’s policies as president.
Sue-Ann DiVito, a 61-year-old realtor from the Philadelphia suburb of Jenkintown who became an immigration advocate during the Trump administration, says Republicans have been successful at spreading anti-immigrant messages in communities like hers, making some of her friends who are Democrats worry about the high number of people arriving in the U.S.
According to Gallup’s monthly data, Americans. named immigration as the top issue facing the country in February, March, and April, surpassing even the share who cited the economy despite persistently higher prices. Immigration came up less frequently as an issue in Gallup’s May poll as attention turned to Trump’s criminal trial and as the number of illegal crossings increased.
The issue was still tied to the government and the economy, as voters saw it as the nation’s most important problem. Most Americans, 56%, say Biden’s presidency has hurt the country on the issues of immigration and border security. according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in April. It’s far higher than the number of 37% (who said the same about issues for voters throughout Trump’s time in office). “I think that’s why we see people who would normally support immigrants are now quieter,” DiVito said.
The border has been a top issue for voters throughout the presidential campaign so far.