A 53 percent majority of Americans say they support building a wall along the southern border.
This is the first time a majority has supported a wall since Monmouth University began conducting this poll in 2015.
"A majority of the public (53%) supports building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, compared with 46% who oppose it," the poll found. "During the Trump administration, support for this project registered no higher than 44% and stood as low as 35%. Support stood at 48% the first time Monmouth asked this question (September 2015) and 42% the last time this question was included in one of Monmouth’s national polls (April 2019). Compared to public opinion nine years ago, support for building a border wall has increased by 13 points among Republicans (from 73% to 86%) and 11 points among independents (from 47% to 58%), but it has declined by 14 points among Democrats (from 31% to 17%)."
Additionally, the pollsters found that concern about illegal immigration is higher now than it was under the Trump and Obama administrations.
"More than 8 in 10 Americans see illegal immigration as either a very serious (61%) or somewhat serious (23%) problem," the pollsters report. "The 6 in 10 who describe it as a very serious problem represents a jump from polls taken at the end of former President Barack Obama’s administration to the midpoint of former President Donald Trump’s term."
Concern about illegal immigration has increased among all political parties and beliefs.
The poll found, "This rise is most notable among Republicans, from 66% very serious in 2015 to 77% in 2019 and 91% in the current poll. Among independents, 58% say this is a very serious problem, up from just over 4 in 10 who said the same in both 2015 (42%) and 2019 (43%). A similar level of concern among Democrats now stands at 41%, after dipping from 33% in 2015 to 26% in 2019."
“Illegal immigration has taken center stage as a defining issue this presidential election year. Other Monmouth polling found this to be Biden’s weakest policy area, including among his fellow Democrats,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Most Americans, a 61 percent majority, believe that people seeking asylum should have to remain in Mexico during the process. This policy was enacted under Trump but squashed by President Joe Biden.
The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from February 8 to 12, 2024 with 902 adults in the United States. There is a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points.
