Midterms 2022: Consensus Emerges to Bring Immigration Under Control

A majority of Americans who voted in the 2022 midterm elections favor policies to end illegal immigration and bring legal immigration under control.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and NumbersUSA finds that 58% of U.S. midterm voters believe the government is doing too little to reduce illegal border crossings and visitor overstays.  Only 13% say the government is doing too much immigration enforcement, while 20% rate the current level of action as about right. (To see survey question wording, click here AZ, FL, NA, NV, HISPANICS.)

A majority (51%) of midterm voters say President Joe Biden’s administration is doing a poor job of handling the issue of illegal immigration, while less than a third give the administration a rating of good (20%) or excellent (12%) on the issue.

The Rasmussen Reports/NumbersUSA survey also polled separate samples of 2022 midterm voters in three key “battleground” states – Florida, Arizona and Nevada – that found voters there shared similar views. Sixty-four percent (64%) of Florida midterm voters say the government is doing too little to prevent illegal immigration and 52% rate the Biden administration poor on handling illegal immigration. The Biden administration gets a poor rating on immigration from 50% of Arizona midterm voters, 58% of whom think the government is doing too little immigration enforcement. In Nevada, 66% believe the government is doing too little immigration enforcement and 53% give the Biden administration a poor rating for its handling of the issue.

"This polling is remarkable. It shows clearly that most American voters of every type, party, and ideology agree that immigration needs to be brought under much better control," said NumbersUSA Vice-President of Operations Jim Robb. 

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. The survey of 1,767 U.S. 2022 midterm voters was conducted on November 8-9, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports and NumbersUSA. Additional surveys were conducted of 1,224 Florida midterm voters, 874 Arizona midterm voters, and 679 Nevada midterm voters. The margin of sampling error on the national survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Margin of sampling error for the state surveys is +/- 3 percentage points for Florida and Arizona, +/- 4 percentage points for Nevada. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Nationwide, 60% of voters said immigration was one of their top three issues in their midterm choice of congressional candidates, including 15% who said immigration was their top issue in deciding their vote for U.S. representative.

Two-thirds (67%) of 2022 midterm voters believe that, in trying to control illegal immigration, it is important to greatly increase the physical barriers such as walls and fencing on the U.S. border with Mexico, including 51% who say strengthing border barriers is Very Important. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of Republicans, 49% of Democrats and 69% of voters not affiliated with either major party say increasing physical barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border is at least somewhat important.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of midterm voters think that, in trying to control illegal immigration, the government should mandate that all employers use the federal electronic E-Verify system to help ensure that they hire only legal workers for U.S. jobs. Mandating use of E-Verify for all employers is supported by majorities of every political and racial category – 83% of Republicans, 57% of Democrats, 69% of unaffiliated voters, 68% of whites, 70% of black voters, 73% of Hispanics and 65% of other minorities.

Among other findings of the Rasmussen Reports/NumbersUSA survey of midterm voters:

– By a 2-to-1 margin, voters favor ending so-called “chain migration.” Only 30% favor current U.S. immigration policy which allows documented immigrants to bring in not just their spouse and children but also eventually other adult relatives that can include extended family and their spouses’ families. Sixty percent (60%) of midterm voters are opposed to current policy and think documented immigrants should be able to bring only their spouse and children with them. Ten percent (10%) are not sure.

– Two-thirds of midterm voters favor reducing legal immigration, which has averaged around a million annually in recent years. Sixteen percent (16%) want to increase the number of new immigrants over one million. Another 10% are comfortable with one million newcomers each year. Sixty-seven percent (67%), however, believe the government should be adding no more than 750,000 new immigrants annually, with 53% who say it should be fewer than 500,000, including 37% who want fewer than 250,000 new immigrants yearly.

– Midterm voters are divided over proposals to provide amnesty for illegal immigrants. Forty-five percent (45%) favor giving lifetime work permits to most of the estimated 12 million illegal residents of all ages who currently reside in the United States, with 21% who Strongly Favor it. Forty-eight percent (48%) are opposed, including 31% who are Strongly Opposed.

– Only among Democratic voters is there majority support for amnesty. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Democrats who voted in the midterms favor giving lifetime work permits to most of the estimated 12 million illegal U.S. residents, but just 28% of Republicans and 30% of unaffiliated voters agree. Majorities of both Republicans (68%) and unaffiliated voters (58%) oppose amnesty for illegals, as do 26% of Democrats.

– In the three “battleground” states surveyed, opposition to amnesty is highest among midterm voters in Nevada (52%), followed by Arizona (48%) and Florida (47%).

President Biden’s strongest supporters are most favorable to granting amnesty for illegal immigrants. Among midterm voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 79% favor giving lifetime work permits to most of the estimated 12 million illegal residents who currently reside in the United States. By contrast, among those who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, 80% are opposed to granting amnesty to undocumented immigrants.

Additional information ( AZ, FL, NA, NV, HISPANICS) from this survey and a full demographic breakdown  ( AZ, FL, NA, NV, HISPANICS) are available to the public as well as to Platinum Members.

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