By The newspaper
Feb 27, 2024, 20:00 PM EST
55% of Americans say that “the large number of immigrants entering the United States illegally” are a critical threat to the country’s vital interests, according to a recent Gallup poll released Tuesday.
The percentage represents a record compared to last year, when 47% of respondents thought the same. The previous maximum was 50% in 2004, according to the EFE agency.
On the other hand, the survey revealed that immigration has become the most important issue and problem for Americans, above the management of the government and the economy.
The Feb. 1-20 poll found that 28% of Americans named immigration as the country’s top problem, representing an 8-point jump from last January, when 20% of respondents believed it. It was the most relevant issue.
Immigration did not appear as the top issue among Americans since July 2019 in the monthly poll conducted by Gallup.
Last January, the main problem for 21% of respondents was the management of the government, but this month it is in second place, with 20% of respondents in favor of this option.
In third place in importance is the economy, with 12%, the same figure as last January.
Concerned Republicans
Republicans continue to be the ones pushing the balance towards immigration the most. In February, 57% of Republicans said immigration was the main problem, up from 37% in January.
Independents show an uptick, from 16% in January to 22% this month, while there has been no significant change among Democrats (from 9% in January to 10% in February).
Residents of the Eastern (36%) and Southern (31%) U.S. are more likely to view immigration as America’s biggest problem, compared to those living in the Midwest (25%) and the U.S. West (22%).
The survey surveyed 1,016 adults and was conducted Feb. 1-20 by telephone. The margin of sampling error is +/-4 percentage points.
With information from EFE.
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