A new left-leaning poll proves the point President Donald Trump made at his State of the Union address: “Americans are dreamers, too.”
According to a Harvard University-Harris Poll, a majority of Americans actually agree with not only one but all of Trump’s immigration proposals.
A stunning 65 percent of Americans support a DACA deal that ends chain migration, eliminates the random visa lottery and secures the border with a wall. Only 35 percent of Americans did not agree.
{mosads}Nearly 70 percent of Americans oppose the visa lottery which allows immigrants to be picked at random for entry into the country.
In fact, nearly 80 percent of Americans believe that immigration should be based on merit and skills, not just family ties.
Even more interesting, the poll shows that 60 percent of Americans believe that even if dreamers are allowed to stay, they should not be given preference to bring relatives to the United States.
When faced with a choice, nearly 80 percent want secure borders rather than open borders.
Specifically, 61 percent think that current border security is inadequate, and more than half of Americans — 54 percent — support a physical barrier along the southern U.S. border. This is particularly bad news for democrats such as Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) who recently reneged on funding the border wall.
The shocking poll underscores the progress Trump has made in his push for immigration reform. When he launched his bid for president, a Pew Research Center pollshowed that only 46 percent of Americans supported a border wall. In 2016, The Washington Post even poked fun at Trump for actually making the border wall less popular at just 36 percent but no that is no longer the case, either. The rise in poll numbers shows Trump’s persistence on the issue finally pays dividends.
The recent Harvard-Harris poll showing Americans’ shifting view is devastating for democrats during a time when they are pushing full amnesty for dreamers, while not giving any ground on funding a wall, improving border security, or reforming other immigration policies. Even Mark Penn, longtime democratic pollster and senior adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, recently admitted that the time has come for democrats to face the music and make a deal.
Finally, what is most surprising about the poll is the fact that it was taken before last week’s State of the Union address during which Americans had the opportunity to meet — via their televisions — families of victims killed at the hands of illegal immigrants.
Those heart-wrenching stories included two teenage girls killed at the hands of illegal immigrant MS-13 gang members on Long Island. It would be interesting to see if support for border security is even higher now in the light of the “Trump bump”that the president received from his heartfelt address.
The bottom line is Americans agree with Trump’s immigration policies, and it does not bode well for democrats who appear to either be tone deaf on the matter, blinded by their open-borders worldview that continues to protect illegals ahead of American citizens, or they intentionally want to keep the issue boiling in advance of the 2018 midterm elections.
The new polls illustrate that Americans feel as Trump feels — that Americans are “Dreamers” in our own right, and that we dream of a nation in which our children can be safe from predatory gang violence, illegal activity and that our children should be afforded the right to live long enough to fulfill their dreams, too.
Democrats’ failure to understand this basic premise just as their 15-point lead collapsed this week to just two points, may prove to be fatal for them in the 2018 midterm elections.
Jen Kerns served as the spokeswoman for the California Republican Party. A two-time appointee of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, she went on to serve as spokeswoman and communications director for the victorious Prop. 8 campaign in California, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Americans for Prosperity in California, and numerous rare successful Statewide races as a Republican press secretary. She departed California at the end of 2012 over public safety concerns.