Immigration is now rated the most important problem facing the United States for the first time since 2019 and only the fourth time since Gallup began polling the public on the issue in 1981.
In January, immigration was rated as America’s second-most pressing issue, named by 20 percent of poll respondents against 21 who identified “Government” as the country’s top problem. Both would have rated behind inflation, at 13 percent, and the “economy in general,” at 12 percent, if they were combined.
February polling saw immigration surge into a clear first place, ahead of “Government” at 28 percent to 20 percent and well ahead of inflation and the economy in general, at 11 and 12 percent, even when combined.
Gallup also found an absolute majority of Americans, 55 percent, now say “large numbers of immigrants entering the United States illegally” are a “critical threat” to the United States — a record high, five points clear of the previous record set in 2004.
A further 31 percent said illegal immigration is a significant threat, against just 14 percent who said it is not a significant threat at all.
Even among Democrats, who are far less concerned by illegal immigration than Republicans, the share of poll respondents describing it as a critical threat has risen from 20 percent in 2023 to 29 percent.
This may be a consequence of the southern border crisis beginning to shift northward, with illegal aliens arriving in Democrat strongholds such as New York City and Chicago in large numbers, draining public resources and sometimes involving themselves in high-profile crimes.
