by Casey Harper
Immigration has become a toxic issue for President Joe Biden, with many voters citing it as their top problem with the president, according to newly released survey data.
Gallup released the poll, which was taken in January and found that only 41% of Americans approved of the job Biden is doing as president while 54% disapprove. Among those disapproving of Biden’s work, 19% cite immigration as the reason, far more than any other specific issue.
The poll marks a potential shift in public opinion from seeing inflation, which has been a thorn in Biden’s side, to immigration as being his biggest problem. The survey showed 9% of disapprovers cited the economy and another 5% cited inflation.
“Nearly one in four Biden detractors mention a personal trait, with 5% saying he’s ‘incompetent,’ 4% saying he’s in poor health or mentally unfit, and 4% saying he’s too old,” Gallup said. “Some of the other knocks on the president are that he’s ‘out of touch,’ a ‘puppet,’ wishy-washy or corrupt.”
Notably, these results come on the heels of House Republicans voting with a narrow majority to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his handling of the border crisis.
Republicans argue that Mayorkas and the Biden administration are willfully not enforcing the laws to keep the border open.
Though that impeachment will likely gain no traction in the Senate, it is an unusually strong rebuke from lawmakers against the sitting president. Republicans point to the southern border crisis and say Biden has the funds and authority to deal with it but has changed federal policies to allow the flood of migrants to continue coming in.
Biden’s administration has changed asylum and deportation policies that have helped spike the flood of immigration, critics argue.
Since Biden took office, more than 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S.
A CAPS-Harris poll released in January found a similar figure, with only 35% of Americans approving of Biden’s work on immigration.
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Casey Harper is a Senior Reporter for the Washington, D.C. Bureau of The Center Square. He previously worked for The Daily Caller, The Hill, and Sinclair Broadcast Group. A graduate of Hillsdale College, Casey’s work has also appeared in Fox News, Fox Business, and USA Today.
Photo “Illegal Immigrants” by John R. Modlin.
