Poll: Americans Don’t Want Obama to Act Unilaterally on Immigration
Alex Anderson /
With the midterm elections two months away, it remains uncertain if—or when—President Obama will use executive action to alter the country’s immigration laws.
63 percent of Americans oppose executive action from Obama on immigration.
But a recent poll conducted by Investors Business Daily shows that a majority of Americans believe the president should not act alone on immigration.
Nearly 3 of 4 Americans polled want Obama to work with Congress to fix the nation’s immigration laws. In fact, 63 percent of Americans oppose an executive order giving millions of illegal immigrants “legal protection and work permits.”
A handful of incumbent Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are growing increasingly wary of the negative impact Obama’s executive action may have on the control of the Senate, according to a Washington Times editorial:
The president must weigh his short-term survival against intensifying pressure from the open-border crowd angry and impatient with him.
>>> House Deputy Whip Says Obama Immigration Action Would Hand Control of Senate to Republicans
Americans’ support for comprehensive immigration reform is diminishing.
Last month, pollster Kellyanne Conway told a panel at The Heritage Foundation that the recent flood of immigrants across the U.S.–Mexico border has made immigration a top issue for Americans.
“I have never seen immigration at the level where it is in terms of the American consciousness,” said Conway. “I think what happened at the border very recently has brought into sharp relief some public opinion.”
>>> Immigration Isn’t Just an Issue for Lawmakers. Everyday Americans Say It’s a Big One, Too.
The poll also found that Americans’ support for comprehensive immigration reform is diminishing.
This year, 48 percent favor a comprehensive approach, a 6 point decrease from last year. Investors Business Daily attributes this decline to the “wake of the crisis” at the border.
In the last year, support for securing the border increased 8 points from 39 percent to 47 percent.
>>> Genevieve Wood: It’s Not ‘Inhumane’ to ‘Want to Secure the Border’