Democrats are more interested in criticizing President Donald Trump on immigration issues than resolving the problems at the southern border, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll published Tuesday.
More than 60 percent of voters believe Democratic lawmakers are “exploiting the nation’s immigration issue for political gain,” while only 34 percent say they are trying to resolve border problems. The poll was conducted shortly after Trump signed an order June 20 ending the policy of separating families at the border.
Voters still disapprove 58 to 39 percent of the way Trump is managing immigration, even if they are not impressed with how Democrats have comported themselves on policy, the poll noted. Immigration is destined to become a major theme heading into the midterm elections in November.
Results from the Quinnipiac poll, which surveyed 1,020 voters between June 27 and July 1 and has a margin of error of 3.7 percent, mirror other polls conducted following the conclusion of Trump’s policy of separating illegal immigrant families. CBS published a poll in June showing that nearly 73 percent of Americans oppose splitting up families as a form of deterrence.
Trump’s immigration policy has prompted activists to take up increasingly radical positions. (RELATED: New Polling Reveals Percentage Of Democrats Who Support Open Borders. It Is Terrifying)
A movement to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is responsible for deporting illegal aliens inside the country, has begun to materialize within the Democratic Party. Several prominent Democratic lawmakers have even voiced support for such a campaign.
Polls, however, consistently show Democrats and Republicans share broadly the same view about how to move forward on illegal immigration: illegal border-crossers should return to their place of origin. (RELATED: Dem Advantage Down To Four Points After Peak Of Immigration Separation Crisis)
A Harvard-Harris poll Monday, for instance, showed a substantial majority of voters said illegal border-crossers and the children who accompany them should be returned to their home countries. More than 84 percent of Republicans, 79 percent of Democrats and 78 percent of independents favored hiring more immigration judges “to process people in custody faster.”
Democrats’ advantage over Republicans in the generic ballot has continued to tumble throughout 2018. Their advantage dipped from a 10-point advantage they had heading into June to just four points in June, according to a June 7 NBC News poll. That poll also showed 50 percent of registered voters wanting a Democratic-controlled Congress.
Gun control has also affected the Democratic advantage since January, The Washington Post noted in an April poll. The gap between support for the two parties in House races narrowed considerably since the gun control debate became a raging issue after the Florida school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February.
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