The crisis at the U.S. southern border continues to be a top concern of voters heading into the 2024 presidential election. A new poll from Monmouth University indicates a majority of Americans now support the construction of a border wall. This is the first time over 50 percent of respondents have supported the wall since Monmouth started asking the question in 2015.
During former President Donald Trump’s term in office, support for the border wall peaked at 44 percent. Until this newest poll, the most support construction of the border wall received was in 2015, with 48 percent. The February 2024 poll, however, now shows support for the wall at 53 percent among Americans.
According to the poll, 61 percent of Americans now consider immigration to be a very serious problem. An additional 23 percent of Americans believe immigration to at least be a somewhat serious problem. Among independents, nearly 60 percent say immigration is a very serious problem. The number of Americans concerned about immigration in Monmouth’s polling never crossed 50 percent between 2015 and 2019 — peaking at 49 percent.
“Illegal immigration has taken center stage as a defining issue this presidential election year,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. He added: “Other Monmouth polling found this to be Biden’s weakest policy area, including among his fellow Democrats.”
The border crisis has also been a dominant issue in other recent polling. A YouGov poll from early February shows the issue is even turning Hispanic voters against Biden. Nearly 90 percent of Hispanic voters said they consider the immigration issue to be ‘important’ to them. A Marist poll, also from the same period, indicated 57 percent of Hispanic voters disapprove of Biden’s handling of the border, while only 27 percent approve.