Public support for border wall soars amid immigration crisis: poll

Former President Donald Trump's signature campaign proposal is more popular than ever as an unprecedented surge in illegal border crossings under his successor has fueled an uptick in public support for building a wall on the southern border.

Public support for a border wall has swung a net 14 points since November 2015, before Trump took office. A Fox News survey, released Wednesday, revealed that 57% of registered voters support the construction of a wall on the nation's border with Mexico while 40% oppose the idea. In November 2015, those figures stood at 50% in favor and 47% opposed.

The results mark an even more dramatic reversal since border wall support reached a low of 39% in September 2018, when 51% opposed building it. Driving much of the uptick is a surge in support from traditionally Democratic constituencies. Support from Hispanic voters for the wall has jumped 14% since February. Among black voters, support jumped 9% in the same period. Democrats saw an 8% increase, while voters over age 65 saw a 19% surge in support. Republican support grew by 7%.

Potentially explaining this development is the relatively recent surge in illegal immigrant arrivals to major American cities, which are predominantly left-leaning. More than seven million people have illegally entered the United States since President Joe Biden took office. His administration's relatively lax attitude toward illegal entry has prompted outrage from Republicans, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been bussing illegals into sanctuary cities to protest Washington's border policies.

His gambit appears to have paid off, with pro-border security protests materializing in even left-wing sanctuary cities such as New York. Abbot's government has sent at least 13,000 migrants to that town alone, though the Big Apple has seen more than 110,000 arrive over the past year. 

Amid pleas from Democratic lawmakers and under pressure from Republicans, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas earlier this month admitted an "immediate need" to build additional border barriers in a key Texas hotspot for illegal crossings.

Public opinion of the Biden administration's immigration policies, meanwhile, remains extraordinarily low, with 33.4% supporting the administration on the issue in the RealClearPolitics polling average. A further 63.0% disapprove of the president's handling of the issue.

Conducted Oct. 6-9, the survey questioned 1,007 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3%.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.