Border Security: 58% See ‘Catastrophe’ in Biden Policy

More than half of voters rate President Joe Biden as doing a poor job on immigration, and agree with a leading Republican’s claim that the president’s policy has produced “catastrophe” at the border.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that just 30% of Likely U.S. Voters believe Biden is doing a good or excellent job handling issues related to immigration, while 52% rate him as doing a poor job on the issue. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Earlier this month, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said: "Since his first day in office, President Biden has worked to systematically undermine America’s border security. ... The result is a humanitarian and national security catastrophe." Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters agree with that statement, including 44% who Strongly Agree. Thirty-seven percent (37%) disagree with the quote from Johnson, including 25% who Strongly Disagree. Another 11% are not sure.

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The survey of 935 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on January 15-17, 2024 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Fifty percent (50%) of voters trust Republicans more to handle immigration, while 38% trust Democrats more and 11% are undecided. The GOP’s advantage on this issue is largely due to their 31-point margin among independents. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Republican voters trust their own party more to handle immigration, and 80% of Democrats trust their own party more on the issue. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 54% trust Republicans more and 23% trust Democrats more to handle immigration.

While 53% of Democrats rate Biden as doing a good or excellent job of handling issues related to immigration, only 14% of Republicans and 18% of unaffiliated voters share that opinion. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Republicans, 18% of Democrats and 63% of unaffiliated voters give Biden a poor rating on the immigration issue.

Eighty-five percent (85%) of Republicans, 42% of Democrats and 59% of unaffiliated voters at least somewhat agree with Speaker Johnson’s quote about Biden’s policy as a “catastrophe” for border security.

Twenty-seven percent (27%) of whites, 38% of black voters and 32% of other minorities give Biden a good or excellent rating on his handling of immigration. Fifty-four percent (54%) of whites, 32% of black voters and 51% of other minorities trust Republicans more to handle immigration.

Men (57%) are more likely than women voters (45%) to say they trust Republicans on the immigration issue. Men are also significantly more likely than women to say they Strongly Agree with Johnson’s statement that Biden’s policy has produced a “catastrophe” at the border.

Voters under 40 are more likely than their elders to say they trust Democrats more to handle immigration.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of self-identified conservative voters trust Republicans more to handle immigration, while 82% of liberals trust Democrats more on the issue. Among moderate voters, 44% trust Republicans more and 38% trust Democrats more to handle immigration.

Breaking down the electorate by income categories, voters in the highest bracket – earning more than $200,000 a year – are most likely to say they trust Democrats more to handle immigration.

A majority of voters think former President Barack Obama is influencing President Biden’s administration, and agree with a GOP congressman’s claim that Biden is really a “puppet” for progressives.

While most Republicans don’t think GOP members of Congress represent their party’s values, Democrats are much more content with their representatives. 

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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