It turns out that illegal immigration is not exactly a winning issue for Democrats among black voters, who overwhelmingly favor deportation over the failed “Catch and Release” policy that lets illegal immigrants roam free after being detained at the border in hopes they show up to a future court date.
According to a CBS News/YouGov poll, a full 40% of black Americans feel that illegal immigrant families should be deported back to their country of origin.
Compare that to just 20% of black Americans who believe that detained illegal immigrant families should be released while they await an asylum hearing, for which many do not return. Only 20% of white Americans agree with “Catch and Release.”
It seems that both a majority of black Americans and white Americans agree that illegal immigrants should be sent home and done so humanely. A majority in all polls regarding the issue also disagree with children being separated from their families while they await asylum hearings.
Despite that, the Democrats have made “Catch and Release” one of their signature policies on illegal immigration as the 2018 midterm elections close in. But polls suggest that this has already begun to work against them, weakening their chances of taking back the House and Senate. From the Daily Wire’s Emily Zanotti:
Democrats had hoped to capitalize on widespread furor over the Trump Administration’s policy of separating illegal immigrant families awaiting asylum hearings, but according to a CBS poll out Monday, taken during the two-week-long immigration debate, Democrats actually slid another point on the November generic ballot.
In response to a question asking which party voters would prefer control Congress in November, 40% of respondents said ‘Democrats,’ whereas 36% of respondents said ‘Republicans,’ down one point on the same poll from just two weeks ago.
Black Americans have largely shown ambivalence regarding illegal immigration, being that it often takes jobs away from their demographic. Recently, a group of black American voters in Santa Clarita, California, protested their state adopting “sanctuary” status for illegal immigrants.