by Mary Lou Masters
Immigration is now the top concern among Americans as President Joe Biden’s administration continues to see record amounts of illegal border crossings, a Tuesday poll from Gallup found.
The issue was previously ranked second at 20%, behind only “government” at 21%, in Gallup’s January survey. Americans now say immigration is top of mind at 28%, followed by 20% who chose “government” and 12% who tapped the “economy in general,” according to the poll.
Border Patrol encountered over 176,000 migrants last month — a record number of illegal crossings at the southern border for any January to date. In fiscal year 2024, the agency has documented over 753,000 illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border, according to federal data.
The Biden administration oversaw record illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border in both fiscal year 2022 and 2023, with over 2.2 million and 2 million encounters, respectively, federal data shows.
The surge of illegal migrants prompted the Republican-led House of Representatives to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Feb. 13 over his handling of the crisis.
Migrant Accused Of Killing US Nursing Student Entered Country Illegally, Released By Authorities https://t.co/j3se0Z4lrZ
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 25, 2024
Immigration continues to be a problem for Biden as he heads toward a likely rematch with former President Donald Trump, whose polling numbers are stronger on the issue. Another Gallup survey released Feb. 14 found that Biden’s detractors largely cited “illegal immigration/open borders” as their main reason for disapproval.
Georgia nursing student Laken Riley’s death has sparked fresh outrage with the Biden administration’s handling of the issue, as her alleged killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was an illegal immigrant with a criminal history from Venezuela released into the county during the president’s tenure.
Other issues that saw a jump from January include “poverty/hunger/homelessness,” “race relations/racism,” “federal budget deficit,” “foreign policy/foreign aid/focus overseas” and healthcare, according to the poll. Inflation and “unifying the country” each saw a two-point drop, while concern over “crime/violence” and “elections/election reform/democracy” declined by one point, respectively.
Americans expressed the same amount of concern over the “lack of respect for each other,” “ethical/moral/religious decline” and “judicial system/courts/laws,” the poll found.
Gallup surveyed 1,016 American adults nationwide between Feb. 1 and Feb. 20 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.
Neither the White House nor Biden campaign immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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Mary Lou Masters is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Illegal Immigrants” by John Modlin.
