AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Only 18% of Americans approve of the federal government’s handling of the southern border, according to a new survey.
The Pew Research Center study, released Thursday, found 80% believe that the government is doing a bad job handling the southern border, while 18% approve of the handling. Out of that 80%, 45% believe the government is doing a “very bad” job.
The poll comes on the heels of House Republicans voting to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, accusing him of avoiding the duties of his office amid record border crossings. It also follows a bipartisan border deal passing the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has already cast doubt on it ever passing the House, insisting President Joe Biden already has the ability to shut down the border and take other actions to streamline border cases.
The administration has also found itself locking horns with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) who has continued busing thousands of migrants to overwhelmed cities like New York and Chicago. Abbott also recently signed into law a bill that expands the authority of local law enforcement in migrant cases. He’s accused the federal government of non-action at the border.
According to the Pew data, a majority of Republicans and Democrats are dissatisfied with the handling of the border with 89% of Republicans saying the government is doing a bad job and 73% of Democrats saying the same. Republicans are, however, more willing to describe the situation as a “crisis” with 70% describing it as such. By comparison, 40% of Democrats describe it as a major problem, and another 26% believe it could be a minor problem.
A majority (60%) believe increasing judges and staff at the border could improve the situation, and 56% believe creating more opportunity within the United States for immigrants could help.
The Pew poll was conducted January 16-21 among more than 5,100 adults. It has a margin of error of 1.7%.
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