29 OCTOBER 2020
NEW BATTLEGROUND POLLING: In Final Days of 2020 Election, Voters in Seven Battleground States Who Will Decide Election Outcome Reject Trump’s Immigration Record and Support Pro-Immigration Solutions for America’s Recovery
New Poll Finds Voters in AZ, CO, FL, MI, NC, PA, and WI Reject Xenophobic Rhetoric and Policies That Have Defined Trump’s Presidency in Favor of Pro-Immigration, Humane Policies
(See Deck and Memo of Poll Results)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Immigration Hub and Civiqs released the results of a more than 7,000 sample poll across seven key battleground states which reveals that swing-state voters not only overwhelmingly support immigrants and pro-immigration policy reforms, but also strongly agree that our immigration system under President Trump has become too cruel and extreme, and they remain dissatisfied with the president’s job performance. This comes amid recent revelations that over 500 children separated from their families at the border have still yet to be reunited. With more than 57% of voters opposing the practice of detention and family separation, Vice President Biden announced today a federal task force to reunite these children on his first day as president.
The polling — which provides a deeper glimpse into voter attitudes on the very immigration issues Trump has placed at the center of his messaging strategy — reveals that battleground voters are increasingly moving away from Trump on immigration, with a majority indicating they prefer pro-immigration policies over the status quo, particularly for America’s recovery from the pandemic — like prioritizing citizenship over deportation, protecting asylum seekers over jailing families, and limiting ICE’s jurisdiction over expanding it.
“The research consistently confirms the growing trend: the American people have made their choice and do not stand with President Trump on immigration,” said Tyler Moran, Executive Director of the Immigration Hub. “In every issue area — family separation, DACA, ICE, asylum-seekers — the American people oppose his views and embrace compassionate, sensible reforms. By continuing to peddle racist messaging, Trump has only hurt himself in the states that he needs to win the most.”
Key Findings Among Voters in Seven Battleground States
The new poll — which interviewed 7,287 registered voters in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on October 8-13, 2020 — counts among its top findings:
Majority of voters across each state, including Independents, disapprove of both Trump’s job as president and his handling of immigration and the pandemic. Over 52% - including 56% in Michigan - disapprove of Trump’s job as president while over half also disapprove of Trump's approach to immigration. Overwhelmingly, more than 53% of voters (57% of those surveyed in Colorado and Michigan) disapproved of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus.
Voters agree citizenship for undocumented immigrant workers should be part of America’s recovery, and prefer citizenship for America’s undocumented immigrants over deportation. Over 55% of voters surveyed, including a majority of Independents and 60% of Pennsylvania voters, agree that an economic recovery bill should include a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrant workers who have been essential to the pandemic response. Nearly two-thirds of voters (63%) prefer citizenship over deportation (29%).
Support for DACA continues to be at an all-time high. Over 62% of battleground voters, including 65% in Florida, support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for Dreamers.
Voters agree immigration enforcement has become cruel and extreme, and prefer a more fair and humane system. Majorities in every battleground state agree that “immigration enforcement has become too cruel and extreme; we should have a system that is more fair and humane.” Over 60% of voters oppose jailing families who have committed no crimes and are seeking asylum; and over 57% of voters oppose the practice of detention and family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Civiqs polling shows that the Trump administration’s immigration policies are widely out of step with voters in battleground states,” said Drew Linzer, PhD, Director of Civiqs. “Voters largely support immigration and hold positive views of immigrants. Beyond expressing dissatisfaction with the president’s job performance on immigration, swing-state voters consistently prioritize citizenship over deportation for undocumented immigrants.”
Tracking Reveals Trump Immigration Message Falling Flat in Battleground States
Tracking from the Immigration Hub reveals that the Trump campaign and Republican operatives have continued to target battleground states with anti-immigrant ads on Facebook and other platforms even while polling shows how ineffective that messaging is with swing-state voters. His campaign has spent $9 million deploying anti-immigration ads on television, making the issue Trump’s second-highest expense behind his spending on the issue of China.
The full polling results can be found here, and Immigration Hub’s recently released 2020 election analysis memo can also be found here.
Methodology: Civiqs interviewed 7,287 registered voters in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin from October 8-13, 2020. 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, and party identification to be representative of the population of registered voters in each state. The full breakdown of each state can be found here.
More information about Civiqs can be found online at civiqs.com/methodology.
# # #
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.