A new nationwide survey conducted last week found that most Americans are now closer to President Trump’s policies than those of the Democratic Party on such issues as illegal immigration and sanctuary cities.
“Americans want to show compassion for those that are here, but want much tougher enforcement of immigration laws,” according to a Harvard-Harris poll conducted June 24-25 with 1,448 registered voters.
They also “want to solve the problem of illegal immigration, not keep kicking the can down the road,” former Clinton pollster and strategist Mark Penn stated.
According to an article in The Washington Examiner written by syndicated columnist Byron York:
Perhaps no Trump policy has provoked more emotional reaction than the practice of separating illegal border crossers from the children they brought with them to the U.S.
There's no need to recount the number of times critics have called the president a Nazi, or a fascist, or just plain cruel.
“The administration has now stopped the separation policy,” York continued, but “that will not satisfy the critics, and legal challenges are sure to follow.”
However, “if a new poll is correct,” he noted, “it appears the Trump administration, after an enormously damaging few weeks, has ended up squarely on the side of the majority of American voters.”
First up in the survey was the question: “Do you think that people who make it across our border illegally should be allowed to stay in the country or sent home?”
Sixty-four percent -- 83 percent of Republicans, 47 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of independents -- said they should be sent home. Only 36 percent said they should be allowed to stay.
Penn then asked: “Do you think that parents with children who make it across our border illegally should be allowed to stay in the country or sent home?”
“The presence of children made little difference in the result,” York stated before noting that “61 percent -- 81 percent of Republicans, 40 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of independents -- said they should be sent home, while 39 percent said they should be allowed to stay.”
Surprisingly, the “vast majority -- 88 percent -- opposed separating illegal immigrant families while they are in the U.S., and they blamed the Trump administration for the policy.”
“On the other hand,” the columnist noted, “55 percent -- 76 percent of Republicans, 39 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independents -- said illegal immigrant families should be held in custody “until a judge reviews their case” -- essentially the new Trump family detention policy.
“A substantial majority” also favored hiring more immigration judges “to process people in custody faster” so people who cross the border illegally are “turned around and returned home efficiently,” a finding York declared as “broadly favorable to the Trump approach to immigration.”
Penn next asked: “Do you think we need stricter or looser enforcement of our immigration laws?" Seventy percent -- 92 percent of Republicans, 51 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of independents -- said stricter, while only 30 percent said looser.
In addition, 60 percent of respondents supported using a “combination of physical and electronic barriers across the U.S.-Mexico border.”
Penn's polling also found overwhelming opposition to sanctuary cities when people were asked: “Should cities that arrest illegal immigrants for crimes be required to notify immigration authorities they are in custody or be prohibited from notifying immigration authorities?”
York noted that “84 percent -- a huge number comprised of 94 percent of Republicans, 76 percent of Democrats and 83 percent of independents -- said that cities should be required to notify immigration authorities. Just 16 percent said cities should be prohibited from doing that.”
Another topic the survey addressed was whether the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency should be eliminated.
Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed -- 78 percent of Republicans, 59 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of independents -- said ICE should not be abolished, while 31 percent said it should.
York concluded his article by stating that the Democratic Party has “lost its way” on immigration,” and its policies are “unrecognizable to some old-style” liberals from the days when Bill Clinton was in the White House.
Of course, there will be little or no reporting on this poll since it doesn't support the "Blue Wave" concept the press is hoping will arrive in November. We'll probably have to wait until then to see just how accurate this survey is at predicting the outcome.
