A majority of U.S. voters say they support the Senate's bipartisan border security bill that the chamber failed to pass and was "dead on arrival" in the House, The Wall Street Journal found in a new poll.
The Journal told survey participants that "a bipartisan group of Senators and the White House recently proposed a bill to make it harder for migrants to get asylum in the U.S., to increase the number of border agents, and give the President the power to limit the number of migrants coming into the country if immigration goes above a certain limit."
Participants then were asked, "From what you've heard, would you favor or oppose this proposal?"
A total of 59% of voters, with roughly equal percentages of Republicans and Democrats, say they would support the bipartisan package, the Journal found.
A plurality of voters put more blame on President Joe Biden than on Republicans for developments in border security, with 45% agreeing with the statement that Biden had allowed more illegal immigration by reversing executive orders that former President Donald Trump had put in place, and that Biden had powers to seal the border but failed to use them.
Another 39% agreed with the statement that the GOP killed the Senate bipartisan deal because Trump told them he didn't want to help Democrats pass legislation.
Also, 74% say they support creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for many years and pass a background check.
Other poll findings included:
- 71% say immigration and border security have moved in the wrong direction during the past year.
- 66% say they disapprove of the job Biden is doing to handle immigration.
- 66% of voters would support creating a mechanism for immigrants brought into the country illegally as children.
- 58% say they support increasing the level of legal immigration to the U.S.
"What it [the survey] tells us is this is an issue where voters are looking for solutions," said Democrat pollster Michael Bocian, who conducted the survey with Republican Tony Fabrizio, the newspaper reported. "They're not totally dogmatic about what those solutions are, but they want solutions."
The Journal survey, conducted Feb. 21-28, followed Senate Republicans on Feb. 7 defeating a bipartisan effort to bolster border security that had taken months to negotiate.
By a vote of 49-50, the Senate failed to approve a $118 billion bipartisan package that would tighten immigration laws, help Ukraine fight a Russian invasion, and bolster Israel in its war with Hamas.
After the Senate announced the agreement on Feb. 4, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., took to X to say the bill was "worse than expected" and "dead on arrival" in the House.
The Journal poll found that 20% of voters now rank immigration as their top issue, up from 13% in December and above any other topic, including the economy.
Reuters contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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