Polling data increasingly suggests Hispanic voters are souring on President Joe Biden, in part because he refuses to secure the United States’ southern border. An overwhelming number of Hispanic voters say they disapprove of Biden’s handling of immigration and would like to see tighter border controls put in place. Since taking office in January of 2021, the number of illegal immigrants in the United States has likely doubled — jumping from 10 million in 2020 to around 20 million at the start of 2024.

A February 8th YouGov poll found that 89 percent of Hispanic voters consider the immigration issue to be ‘important’ to them. Meanwhile, data from Marist shows that 57 percent of Hispanic voters disapprove of Biden’s handling of the border, while only 27 percent approve. In Texas, Biden’s open border policies appear to have his campaign staring down a complete collapse among Hispanics. A survey released last week by the Univesity of Houston found former President Donald Trump leading Biden with Hispanics 47 percent to 41 percent. Among Hispanic Democrats, only 55 percent say they intend to back Biden, with 45 percent undecided.

Growing Hispanic populations in crucial presidential election swing states have made the demographic a must-win for both Biden and Trump. Arizona and Nevada are roughly 30 percent Hispanic while comprising about 10 percent of the population in Georgia and North Carolina — still a significant voting block.

Since last year, President Biden’s re-election campaign has struggled to win back key minority voter demographics that have traditionally comprised a critical part of the Democrat base. Last fall, polling showed Black and Hispanic voters abandoning the President over the failure of ‘Bidenomics.’ Meanwhile, the Biden government’s lukewarm support for Israel has infuriated Arab-American voters in states like Michigan — forcing his campaign to increasingly focus on holding the state.