Voters overwhelmingly support Republican asks on border security
Conn Carroll
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Senate Democrats have reportedly ended negotiations with Senate Republicans over border security because the Republicans, according to Democrats, are asking for policies that are too extreme.
But when asked which border security policy they prefer, voters overwhelmingly chose the Republican one.
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Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) told reporters on Monday that Republicans are insisting on policies that would “essentially close the border,” which he said is a “nonstarter” for Democrats. And unnamed Democratic staffers have told reporters that Republicans are asking for “extreme” changes that would “grant the executive branch sweeping powers to restrict immigration.”
Unfortunately for Democrats, sweeping powers to essentially close the border is exactly what voters want.
Asked last December by Harvard University if the Biden administration should “continue its current policies” on the border or issue new policies to “reduce the flow of people coming across the border,” 67% of voters chose reducing the flow of people coming across the border.
Asked specifically if those illegally crossing the border “should be turned back to Mexico,” which is exactly what Senate Republicans are asking for, or “released into the U.S. with a court date,” which is President Joe Biden’s policy, 68% of voters chose “turned back to Mexico.”
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If anything, the Harvard poll showed that voters underestimate the crisis Biden has created on the southern border. When asked, “How many border crossings by illegal immigrants do you think are occurring each year?” just 6% correctly said between 2 million and 3 million. A full 87% of voters underestimated how many immigrants have been arrested illegally crossing the southern border, including 75% who said the number was less than 1 million. At the time, 2.75 million immigrants illegally crossed the border that year. This year, it was even worse.
No one ever gets everything they want in a political negotiation, but Senate Republicans should not settle for cosmetic changes that would do nothing to solve the border crisis Biden created. Voters overwhelmingly support Republican efforts to reverse Biden’s border policies and shut down illegal immigration. They should not settle for a compromise that doesn’t correct the underlying problem.