Rasmussen Poll: 62% Say 'Illegal' Is Correct Term

President Joe Biden has said he shouldn't have used the term "illegal" to describe an undocumented person who allegedly murdered Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student.

"I shouldn't have used illegal, it's undocumented," he said to MSBNC's Jonathan Capehart.

Democrats and immigration advocates have long rejected the word "illegal," arguing that it dehumanizes immigrants, Politico observed, adding that Biden received "swift pushback" to his use of the term "illegal" in his State of the Union speech.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey found that 35% of likely U.S. voters say "illegal alien" is the best way to describe foreigners who cross the U.S. border in violation of immigration laws, while 27% said "illegal immigrant" is the best term. "Undocumented migrant" was preferred by 20%, while 12% said it should be "asylum seeker."

Twice as many respondents identifying as Republicans as Democrats approve of the term "illegal."

Among Republicans, 80%, chose "illegal alien" or "illegal immigrant" as the proper term, while 44% of Democrats, and 60% of unaffiliated voters said the same.

Democrats, 28%, chose "undocumented migrant" as the best designation, while 9% of Republicans and 21% of unaffiliated voters said the same. Just 17% of Democrats, 7% of Republicans and 10% of unaffiliated voters prefer the term "asylum seekers."

More men (67%) than women (56%) prefer either "illegal alien" or "illegal immigrant" as the proper term for foreigners who cross the U.S. border in violation of immigration laws.

On racial breakdowns, 62% of whites, 55% of blacks and 64% of other minorities said either "illegal alien" or "illegal immigrant" is the correct term for those who violate U.S. law by crossing the border.

Ibarra was detained by the Border Patrol on Sept. 8, 2022, after entering from Mexico near El Paso, Texas. He was released for further processing, according to ICE, CBS News reported.

According to ICE, Ibarra was arrested by New York police on Aug. 31, 2023, and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and with motor vehicle license violation. Ibarra was released before ICE could ask New York officials to hold him until immigration authorities could take him into custody, according to CBS.

Two-thirds of all likely voters say they are concerned that illegal immigration may be contributing to violent crime in America, including 46% who said they are very concerned. But 31% said they aren't concerned that illegal immigration contributes to America's crime, including 10% who said they are not at all concerned about the issue.

Republicans, 84%, along with 51% of Democrats and 65% of unaffiliated voters said they are at least somewhat concerned that illegal immigration may contribute to the violent crime.

Majorities of every racial category — 64% of whites, 73% of blacks and 70% of other minorities — said they are at least somewhat concerned that illegal immigration may contribute to violent crime.

But CBS News noted: "Despite the heated rhetoric, researchers' analysis of crime data in several studies has shown that undocumented immigrants have lower rates of violent crime compared to U.S. citizens."

A large majority of Republicans, 76%, said illegal immigration makes the United States a worse country, compared to 38% of Democrats, and 56% of unaffiliated voters. Further, 22% of Democrats, 8% of Republicans, and 10% of unaffiliated voters said illegal immigration makes the country better.

Politico noted: "The White House has been trying to cast Biden as tough on immigration as the issue is emerging as a top concern for voters in the 2024 election, yet polls show voters giving Biden low marks on it."

The survey of 1,149 U.S. likely voters was conducted March 13-14 and 17, by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research.