New Poll: Immigration Number One Concern for Americans
FAIR Take | March 2024
A new Gallup poll, released in late February 2024, finds that Americans think immigration is the most important problem facing the country today. The poll found that 55 percent of people surveyed felt that large-scale illegal immigration was a critical threat to the vital interests of the United States. These numbers suggest that the failure of the Biden Administration to secure the border is now dominating the minds of the people across the country.
According to Gallup, 28% of Americans said immigration was their top concern. This is higher than the number who listed the economy (12 percent) or inflation (11 percent) as their top concern combined. One reason may be that those who are worried about the economy and ongoing inflation are beginning to see the huge economic burden open-border policies place on taxpayers, with FAIR estimating a net cost of at least $150.7 billion. According to our study, illegal aliens across the country consume significant amounts of expensive public services and pay relatively little to nothing in taxes.
Gallup noted that, in addition to immigration, Americans are also concerned about crime and violence with about 3 percent of respondents saying it was a problem facing the United States. These problems have also been exacerbated by the historic wave of illegal immigration we are experiencing. The inability of border agents to adequately vet millions of migrants, who are nevertheless being released into communities nationwide, put innocent Americans at risk — of crime, drugs, violence, gangs and trafficking — as shown most recently with the tragic murder of Laken Riley in Georgia by an illegal alien from Venezuela. Failure to secure the border has also allowed cartels and gangs to establish themselves in U.S. cities. This includes the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, a member of whom was among the group that attacked NYPD officers in Times Square.
The poll also found that 3 percent of Americans surveyed are most concerned about healthcare, which is also impacted by open borders. When illegal immigrants are released into the U.S. without adequate screening and vetting, potentially deadly infectious diseases like tuberculosis (TB) spread quickly. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ statistics show that 73 percent of TB cases in the U.S. are in foreign-born individuals and the rate of TB among the U.S. population 16 times higher for foreign-born than U.S.-born individuals. Public health on TB rates offers us insight regarding why. Mexico has a TB rate 11 times higher than the United States, China a rate 20 times higher and Haiti a rate of over 200 times higher.
The Gallup poll, like other recent polls, demonstrates that the arrival of 10,000 illegal aliens every day has certainly impacted Americans’ perceptions. Immigration is now the premier issue that could decide how millions of Americans may cast their votes this year. Regardless of which party holds office, protecting Americans and our nation through stronger border security measures should be the top priority of policymakers.