A majority of Americans believe the ongoing crisis at the border represents some level of “invasion,” according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll.
Researchers surveyed 1,116 adults from across the United States on July 28-29 regarding their views on the ongoing immigration crisis at the border and how it relates to the presence of illegal drugs in the U.S. The poll has a confidence interval of 5.1 percentage points.
In response to the statement that the situation at the southern border represented an “invasion,” a majority of respondents responded affirmatively, with 28% answering that the statement is “completely true” and 25% saying it is “somewhat true.”
Half of respondents also said that the border crisis was at least somewhat the cause of overdoses and deaths from illegal drugs in the country. Twenty-two percent of respondents said that it is “completely true” that “migrants bringing fentanyl and other illegal drugs over the southern border are responsible for the increase in drug overdoses and deaths in the U.S.” Another 28% said the statement was “somewhat true.”
The poll also asked respondents if they would describe the U.S. approach to immigration as an “open border policy.” The responses broke down as follows: 21% answered “completely true,” 21% answered “somewhat true,” 25% answered “completely false,” and 33% answered “don’t know.”
The poll comes as tensions between red-state governors and the Biden administration continue to escalate over the flood of illegal immigrants entering the United States. The U.S. Border Patrol is arresting record numbers of migrants coming across the southern border. So far this fiscal year, which ends in October, officials have made about 1.82 million arrests — a record.
The new record tops the previous one set during the 2021 fiscal year at about 1.66 million arrests.
In response to President Joe Biden’s handling of the border, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) launched a relocation program earlier this year and has bused hundreds of migrants to Washington, D.C., and has recently started busing migrants to New York as well. The program is part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, a state initiative to secure the border that has failed where it contradicts federal law.
One such failure took place at a border crossing in Texas on Wednesday. Video showed Border Patrol agents unlocking a gate and letting in around two dozen migrants after Texas national guardsmen had padlocked gate in an attempt to keep the migrants back. Border Patrol is required to process migrants arrested in the U.S., however, and let them through to take them into custody, according to Fox News.
NEW: For the first time, we witnessed the TX National Guard close & lock a gate on private property at a major crossing area in Eagle Pass, denying entry to migrants who just crossed illegally & expected to be let in. Border Patrol then came w/ a key & let them in for processing. pic.twitter.com/S1fZaTJnEi
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) August 17, 2022