WASHINGTON (AP) – More Americans disapprove than approve of the way President Joe Biden is dealing with the growing number of unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the United States border with Mexico, and the approval of their efforts on a broader immigration policy it falls short of other important issues – suggesting that it may be a weakness for the new administration.
New research from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also shows that solving the problem of youth on the border is among the highest immigration priorities of Americans: 59% say that providing safe treatment for unaccompanied children when they are apprehended should be a high priority, and 65% say the same about bringing families separated in the border.
Former President Donald Trump built his presidency around hardline policies that expanded and strengthened the border walls, made it more difficult for people fleeing drug violence and other desperate circumstances in Mexico and Central America to seek asylum in the United States and separate immigrant families.
Biden tried to take advantage of the political momentum on the issue, promising a more humane and orderly system, but his government has struggled to cope with the growing number of migrants arriving at the border, especially unaccompanied children.
Overall, 40% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s treatment of children who reach the country’s southern border without their parents, compared with only 24% who approve. Thirty-five percent have no opinion anyway.
“I don’t know how to say it politically correctly: I feel that because there is this new administration, people feel they can come to the country,” said Mindy Kiehl, a 40-year-old real estate agent in Erie, Pennsylvania, who otherwise approves of the way how Biden is handling the presidency so far.
“I see. They are looking for refuge,” added Kiehl. “But bringing these children is not good for children, it is not good for families. I don’t know how that will solve the problem.”
Biden said at a recent news conference that “we are sending back the vast majority of families that are arriving”. But their struggles on the subject go beyond unaccompanied minors.
Only 42% of Americans say they approve of the way the president is dealing with immigration in general, and a similar share, 44%, say he approves of the way he is dealing with border security. Both are significantly lower than the 61% of Americans who claim to approve of how Biden is handling his work in general and fall short of the president’s assessment on a few other issues, including his response to the coronavirus pandemic. and economy management.
This gap arises despite the fact that the White House endorses the most ambitious reform of the country’s immigration system in a generation on Biden’s first day in office. It has stalled in Congress, however, and Republicans and even some top Democrats say approval will be difficult.
The plan would provide an eight-year path to citizenship for some 11 million people illegally in the U.S., but research shows that this is not at the top of the public’s priority list. Only 29% of Americans in general, including 42% of Democrats and 14% of Republicans, consider the legal status of people illegally a high priority.
In addition, only a third of Americans say that allowing refugees to come to the United States or expanding “guest worker” programs should be a priority.
The gap between Biden’s overall approval rating and his way of dealing with immigration crosses party lines. Seventy-four percent of Democrats and 10% of Republicans approve of Biden’s handling of immigration, compared with 96% of Democrats and 22% of Republicans who approve in general.
The difference also occurs between racial and ethnic groups. Overall, 92% of black Americans, 67% of Hispanics and 52% of white Americans say they approve of how Biden is handling his work. On immigration, 74% of black Americans, but only 50% of Hispanics and 34% of white Americans say they approve.
Jack Henes, retired in Sebastian, Florida, said Biden has not handled immigration as well as other controversial issues, while calling what is happening on the southern U.S. border an “administrative nightmare”
Pending the larger legislative package, the Democratic-controlled House passed smaller-scale reforms that face an uncertain future in a 50-50 Senate split. Biden also used executive actions to try to reverse many of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, but it has been criticized for not doing enough fast enough.
Others think he has gone too far.
“My concern is that President Biden has allowed the world to feel that it is okay to just enter,” said Matthew Behrs, a Trump supporter in Wisconsin.
The poll shows that many Americans classify some of the Democratic proposal’s main goals as moderate rather than high priorities, suggesting that Biden lacks a clear mandate on how best to proceed on the issue, potentially undermining his influence in Congress.
And many want efforts to intensify enforcement to be part of the conversation: for 53%, increasing border security is a high priority. About 47% of Americans also say that the federal government should prioritize the strengthening of policies to prevent immigrants from exceeding the validity period of visas.
Less, about a third, say that penalizing companies that hire immigrants who live illegally in the US and deport immigrants who live illegally in the US should be priorities.
The survey also found that Americans are more likely to favor than oppose providing a way for immigrants illegally brought to the US when children remain legally, 53% to 24%, with 22% saying they are neither in favor nor opposed. oppose. Even so, only 41% consider the extension of legal protections to the so-called Dreamers a high priority. A plan approved by the Chamber but waiting for Senate action seeks to do just that.
Biden has now appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to work with Central American countries to try to address the roots of illegal immigration. Henes, the retiree, suggested that Biden gave the problem to Harris as a way to buy some time – but that didn’t help.
“They are still grouped together,” said Henes. “They are not ready to end the game.”
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The AP-NORC survey of 1,166 adults was conducted from March 26 to 29 using a sample taken from the AmeriSpeak Panel based on NORC probability, which was designed to be representative of the United States population. The sampling error margin for all respondents is about 3.6 percentage points.