Immigration rises to top concern in US: Gallup

Americans say immigration is the most important issue in the U.S., marking the first time it has been the top-ranked concern since 2019, according to a new poll.

The Gallup survey, released Tuesday, found 28 percent of Americans named immigration as the top problem, which is an 8-point jump from January, when immigration came in just behind the 21 percent who said government. In the new survey, government was chosen as the top concern for 20 percent of participants. 

The “economy in general” and inflation followed closely behind, with 12 and 11 percent, respectively, per the survey. Topics that fell in single digits included “poverty/hunger/homelessness,” unifying the country and “race relations/racism.”

The February poll numbers for immigration barely topped the record from July 2019, when 27 percent ranked it the top issue.

The latest Gallup poll comes as border security remains in limbo in Congress, with divisions among lawmakers putting a wrench in passing border legislation. Senate negotiators spent months hammering out a bipartisan deal that would’ve included border security provisions and unlocked foreign aid, but the deal crumbled amid GOP opposition.  

In an attempt to move foreign aid through Congress, the Senate later passed a $95 billion foreign aid package, which includes funding for Ukraine and Israel in their wars against Hamas and Russia, respectively, It also includes funding for humanitarian assistance in Gaza along with the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific allies. 

The bill faces uncertainty in the House, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has signaled he would not put it on the floor because it lacks the border security measures demanded by House GOP members for months. Moderate lawmakers in the House, however, introduced another version of the bipartisan foreign aid and border agreement, but that has not moved either.

President Biden is expected to host Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday to discuss the foreign aid bill and Friday’s deadline to avoid a government shutdown.

Divisions about immigration are observed among voter party lines as well, with 57 percent of Republicans and just 10 percent of Democrats naming the issue as the most important, Gallup found. 

In a separate question, the survey found a record-high — 55 percent — of U.S. adults believe illegal immigration is a critical U.S. interest. That number is 8 points up from last year and 5 points higher than the previous record of 50 percent from 2004. 

The Gallup poll was conducted Feb. 1-20 among a random sample of 1,016 adults living in the U.S. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.