Polls Apart: The More Biden Pushes Immigration, the More the Public Pushes Back

A whopping 84 percent of New York voters say the influx of migrants to their state is a “serious problem,” according to a new Siena (N.Y.) College poll. Some 57 percent called it a “very serious problem.”

Strong majorities said New York officials must work to slow the flow of migrants rather than accept and assimilate them. That view was shared by 82 percent of Republicans, 68 percent of independents and 52 percent of Democrats. Notably, two-thirds of downstate voters, who typically are more liberal, want less immigration, while 59 percent of upstate voters took that position.

Growing criticism of President Biden’s immigration policies is sending his approval numbers tumbling in the Empire State. By a margin of 52-41 percent, New York Democrats told pollsters they want a different presidential nominee in 2024.

“Seldom do we see an issue where Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, women, upstaters, downstaters, Blacks, whites, Latinos, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants all agree – that the migrant influx is a serious problem,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg.

Other polls confirm increasing resistance to the Biden administration’s ongoing, wholesale release of migrants into the U.S.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll reported last month that 54 percent of respondents said Biden’s immigration policies were making life harder for Americans. That figure – up from 48 percent in July – included 57 percent of independents.

In a 36-nation survey, Americans registered the second largest decline in affirmative reaction to the statement: “My country should be more open to immigration.”

Chile, which has become a pass-through country for global migration en route to the U.S., took the sharpest turn against mass immigration.

In 2020, immigrants comprised nearly 9 percent of Chile’s population – up from just 1 percent in 1992. Of its more than 1.5 million immigrants, Chile has seen a massive influx of Venezuelans, Colombians and Haitians, many of whom subsequently trekked north to the United States.