By Thomas Gallagher on March 25, 2021
A Politico/Morning Consult Poll, released this week, shows a big decline in support for citizenship for illegal immigrants, even among Democrats.
This finding, by a liberal Democratic-oriented national survey firm has the potential to roil further the debate about Biden’s immigration proposals.
The survey showed that only 43% of registered voters favored creating a “pathway” to citizenship for illegal immigrants. That figure is down from 57% last month — a drop of 14 points.
47% opposed the “pathway” to citizenship with 29% of the total sample wanting them to be deported and 19% saying they should be legalized and allowed to stay but should not have a pathway to citizenship.
Among Democrats, the decline in support for the Biden citizenship program fell from 72% to 57% over the past month.
In our polarized politics, such huge changes are most unusual. This decline in support for citizenship for illegals is likely due to the mass influx at the border — clearly in response to Biden’s open invitation to come.
The border crisis is becoming a hallmark of the Biden presidency. His immigration proposals will likely continue that trend. Rasmussen Reports shows his approval rating dropping from 52% on March 19 to 48% today, probably because of his open border policies.
Presidents tend to get in trouble when they are “stuck” in a quagmire, often of their own making where they can see no way out. Johnson in Vietnam, Nixon in Watergate, Carter in the Hostage Crisis, Reagan in Iran-Contra, Bush-41 in the recession, Clinton with the Lewinsky scandal, Bush-43 in Iraq, and Trump in Covid. Now, to this list, we can add Biden on the border. His campaign commitments afford no possibility of retreat and his comments and policies are likely to fuel even more mass migration.
And Biden does not have the flexibility to change his position. To do so would interfere with the Democrats’ long-term plan to increase the number of Hispanic and Latino voters in the confident expectation that they will vote Democrat. But now the strategy may be unraveling. Not only are Democrats increasingly turning against the plan, but Latinos are backing Republicans in ever larger numbers. Vote studies place Trump’s gain among Hispanics at 5-7 points above his vote in 2016.
The border crisis is, of course, entirely home made in the Biden White House. Mexican President Lopez-Obrador put it best when he said that migrants believe Biden is on their side. “And this has caused Central American migrants, and also from our country, wanting to cross the border thinking that it is easier to do so.” He added “They see [Biden] as the migrant president, and so many feel they’re going to reach the United States.”
Biden cannot escape the border issue. He remains stuck in quicksand and is not likely to get out any time soon…or ever.
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