Voters Support New Executive Actions For Dreamers And Undocumented Spouses Of U.S. Citizens

In the days following President Biden’s announcement to step down as Democratic presidential candidate and endorse Kamala Harris, the vice president has immediately begun to make the case against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on the issue of immigration. Against conventional wisdom, the Harris campaign launched a new political ad on the vice president’s record to strengthen the nation’s border security as the Democratic candidate reminded voters in Atlanta how Trump “tanked” the bipartisan bill in Congress this year. For years, the Immigration Hub has advocated for an offensive strategy that elevates Democratic solutions to fix America’s immigration system while highlighting their opponent’s extreme position on the issue. As Trump and Republicans drive a multimillion dollar ad campaign on immigration against Harris and Democrats, Kamala Harris is taking a critical and galvanizing step to counter and define her record on the issue, putting equal fire and funds behind her case to the American electorate.

According to a recent report, the Harris campaign will also be attacking Trump’s mass deportation plans and “elevating the Biden administration’s moves to grant legal protections to long-term, undocumented spouses and children of American citizens.” This is a winning strategy that will build a new and energized coalition of Harris voters. In a new Immigration Hub poll conducted by Global Strategy Group and BSP Research, battleground voters overwhelmingly support the executive actions expanding legal pathways to Dreamers and undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens.

While the executive action on limiting asylum has support (56% v. 29%), the executive actions on keeping families together (spouses and Dreamers/DACA) is more motivating to key electoral constituencies that Democrats need to show up in November. Voters who are either voting for, or open to voting for, President Biden were asked about whether these immigration actions are motivating reasons to vote for him. Half of these voters found the President’s actions on keeping families together (spouses, Dreamers/DACA) to be a motivating reason to vote for him (50% makes them more motivated to vote/42% no impact/8% less motivated), while just over a third of voters found the executive action on limiting asylum to be a motivating reason (37% more motivated/55% no impact/8% less motivated).

What’s been true in repeated polling is that the majority of voters support a balanced approach to addressing immigration – that is to say, they want to hear that candidates have a plan to manage the border in an orderly and humane way AND offer pathways to citizenship for Dreamers and undocumented immigrants in the country. In fact, 66% of battleground voters surveyed supported a balanced approach “that includes both border security and protects Dreamers, providing them and other eligible immigrants who have been here for many years a pathway to citizenship.”

This underscores the need for Vice President Harris and her campaign to communicate the executive actions to keep families together, a motivating message that consolidates key voters:

• Younger Hispanic voters 18-29 (52% motivated by keeping families together; 26% motivated by asylum restrictions).
• Younger voters 18-29 of all ethnicities (52% motivated by keeping families together; 32% motivated by asylum restrictions).
• Voters who self-report being less motivated to vote this year (35% motivated by keeping families together; 23% motivated by asylum restrictions).

In the same poll, findings also showed that when voters were given a choice between mass deportation and a pathway to citizenship, 61% of voters supported a pathway to citizenship.

The results of this survey stress Harris’s advantage over Trump. Should she continue to go on offense – elevating her record on border security and keeping families together, driving a bold vision to deliver a pathway to citizenship, and reminding voters of Trump’s family separation policy and mass deportation plans – Harris will effectively build a new and energized coalition of voters.

ABOUT THE POLL: Global Strategy Group conducted a survey of 800 likely voters in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin between June 25th and July 1st, 2024. The survey has a confidence interval of +/-3.5%. All interviews were conducted via web-based panel. BSP Research conducted a survey of 600 Latino registered voters, in Nevada and Arizona, between June 27th and July 7th, 2024. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 4.0%. All interviews were conducted via phone or online. Care has been taken to ensure the geographic, political, and demographic divisions of the population of likely voters are properly represented.