Public Opinion Attitudes on Immigration

Survey findings prepared by Global Strategy Group and BSP Research on behalf of The Immigration Hub.

The Immigration Hub commissioned a national public opinion poll, conducted by Global Strategy Group and BSP Research.

Executive Summary

Democrats continue to face a challenging public opinion environment on immigration. Voters give President Biden low approval ratings on immigration. Republicans aren’t seen as handling the issue well either, but voters hear more from them on the issue, leaving Democrats at a disadvantage.

Bringing back the unpopular policy of family detention is not the way to address the Democrats’ public opinion challenges at the border, especially since more popular alternatives exist. Even as voters continue to want a secure and orderly border, family detention is an unpopular policy that evokes deeply unpopular Trump-era family separation policies. Alternatives to family detention test better.
Voters – especially swing voters and Democrats – respond far more positively to a balanced “orderly and humane” approach to the border than a “get tougher” approach that brings back family detention. The balanced approach – including fast and fair processing for refugee families and protecting Dreamers and immigrant workers from deportation to address labor shortages – improves President Biden’s approval rating on immigration by double digits.