A newly released poll finds that a majority of registered voters believe Vice President Kamala Harris is a supporter of “open borders.”
69% of voters believe Harris supports open borders, further highlighting her weakness on immigration as a presidential candidate. according to The Harvard-Harris poll, released Tuesday, showed that voters across the political spectrum generally agreed, with 56% of Democrats, 82% of Republicans and 69% of independents saying the vice president supports an open border policy. (RELATED: County Supervisors Call for End to Sanctuary Policy After Illegal Immigrant Arrested on Murder Suspect)
Only 31% of voters, compared with 44% of Democrats, believe Harris opposes an open border. Respondents also ranked immigration as the second most important issue facing the country, behind the economy, health care, crime and a host of other national concerns.
At the same time, respondents to the Harvard-Harris Poll were overwhelmingly opposed to open borders, with 68% of voters saying they would oppose such a policy. By party affiliation, Republicans and independents were significantly more opposed, while Democrats were roughly evenly split, with 51% in favor of open borders and 49% opposed.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (16th District, Texas) (right), Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas (left), and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) (second from right) listen to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speak during a press conference at El Paso International Airport in El Paso, Texas on June 25, 2021. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
The survey revealed further support for hardline border policies among the American public, with 73% of voters backing the policy goal of “closing the border and keeping immigrants out.” Majorities of Republicans, independents, and even Democrats agreed with this policy statement.
In a head-to-head matchup, 48% of voters said they would choose former President Donald Trump, compared with 45% for Harris and 7% who said they weren't sure, according to the poll.
The poll results come as Harris has emerged as a leading Democratic presidential candidate following President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race earlier this month. Since becoming a presidential candidate, Harris' record on immigration has come under increased scrutiny, and her allies have sought to downplay her responsibilities as “border secretary” within the Biden administration.
Other surveys released this year have shown U.S. voters, including Latino voters, moving to the right on immigration and the border. The shift in voter hardline coincides with the ongoing border crisis that is affecting border communities as well as cities hundreds of miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Border Patrol agents have encountered more than 7 million foreign nationals who have entered the U.S. illegally since the Biden administration took office. according to The latest data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that major cities like New York City, Chicago, and Denver have spent more than $1 billion to house and feed the thousands of asylum seekers in their jurisdictions.
The Harvard-Harris Poll was conducted July 26-28 among 2,196 registered voters and has a margin of error of 2.1 percentage points.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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