29 APRIL 2021
New Poll: As Vice President Harris Tackles the Root Causes of Migration from Central America, Poll Finds Strong Support for the Administration’s Regional Work
Read the Full National Findings: Deck and Memo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following President Biden’s joint address to Congress in which he reaffirmed the administration’s plans to modernize our immigration system, the Immigration Hub today announced the release of a new poll of over 3,000 registered voters — conducted by Civiqs — which finds a majority of American voters support immigration policies that take a multinational approach to addressing the root causes of migration, invest in smart, modern border management, and allow people to immigrate to the United States when seeking asylum or feeling violence in their home country.
“The American people want a smart and humane immigration system that effectively manages the border while allowing America to be the ‘shining city on the hill’ for people fleeing violence in their home country,” said Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director of the Immigration Hub. “After four years of harsh, inhumane immigration tactics aimed at deterring people from coming to America, we now see a public and a president intent on taking a new approach. In particular, as Vice President Harris continues to roll out new initiatives and achievements in addressing the root causes of migration with our neighbors to the south, voters strongly support the need for this type of regional leadership. They understand that migration at our border is driven by desperate circumstances such as extreme hunger and violence, and cannot be solved by abhorrent policies Republicans have put forward like separating families.”
The polling found key takeaways in the minds of voters across the United States:
Unlike Republican crackdown approach, 85% of voters surveyed agree that the U.S. government should work more closely with other countries in the region to preemptively reduce migration. This policy has broad and consistent bipartisan support, including 86% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans and 81% of Independents.
In fact, nearly two-thirds of American voters (61%) do not think harsher immigration policies will keep people from migrating across the Mexico—U.S. border, including 87% of Democrats, 60% of Independents and 30% of Republicans.
54% of voters agree that instead of continuing to fund more agents, a wall and tougher approach to refugees, the government should invest in a new, more cost-effective strategy that focuses on smarter border management, infrastructure and working with regional countries to create fair and orderly ways for people to migrate.
A majority of voters feel that it is acceptable for immigrants to enter the United States if they are fleeing violence in their home country (57%) or seeking asylum (52%).
47% of Americans support ending the use of for-profit prisons for immigration detention, including 67% of Democrats, 47% of Independents, and 24% of Republicans.
This polling comes as Vice President Harris has already made early progress rebuilding our relationships with Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries and programs targeted at improving conditions and increasing opportunity in migrants’ home countries.
Diplomacy: Ahead of her official trip to the region in June, Harris has held multiple bilateral meetings and calls with Heads of State both in the region, including Mexico and Guatemala, and from allied countries such as Japan and Canada who will support this work. She is working to address both the acute causes as well as the root causes of migration in order to bring hope and opportunities to people in their home countries. In this work, she has already secured key commitments from governments in the region to establish greater cooperation, and an agreement with Guatemala on combating transnational criminal organizations, human trafficking and human smuggling.
Targeted Programs: Harris has also announced major humanitarian efforts including $310 million in aid to Central America which will help alleviate conditions that drive migration, from droughts, food shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as support safety measures for refugees and asylum seekers. Additionally, USAID has launched new programs and deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to provide expertise in food assistance, jobs programs, and protection for vulnerable families and communities.
These immediate actions are encouraging and in line with President Biden’s immigration bill which addresses root causes of migration, as well as modernizes our border and provides pathways to citizenship.
Methodology
Civiqs interviewed 3,032 registered voters in the United States from April 15-20, 2021. The survey was conducted online, among selected members of the Civiqs research panel. Sampled individuals were emailed by Civiqs and responded using a personalized link to the survey at civiqs.com. The survey results are weighted by age, race, gender, education, party identification, and region to be representative of the population of registered voters in the United States. The general design effect due to weighting is 1.12. The survey has a margin of error of 1.9% at the 95% confidence level, accounting for the design effect. More information about Civiqs can be found online at civiqs.com/methodology.
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.