Much to the chagrin of The Washington Post, their own poll of roughly 1,200 Mexicans found that a majority say immigrants are a burden on their country and favor deporting migrants who travel through Mexico to reach U.S.
The Washington Post/Reforma survey asked, “What should Mexico do with the migrants from Central America that cross through the country trying to reach the United States? Give them residency in Mexico, give them temporary residency while the United States decides if it will accept them or not, or deport them to their countries of origin?”
Only 7% of respondents said they would like the illegal immigrants to stay, 33% said they would prefer giving them a temporary place to stay, and a whopping 55% said they wanted to see the illegal immigrants deported.
Further, the pollsters asked, “With which of these phrases do you agree the most? The migrants strengthen our country with their work and skills or the migrants are a burden on our country because they take jobs and receive benefits that should belong to Mexicans.” Only 20% of respondents felt the migrants strengthened Mexico while a huge 64% said the migrants were a burden.
The Post admitted, “Those findings defy the perception that Mexico — a country that has sent millions of its own migrants to the United States, sending billions of dollars in remittances — is sympathetic to the surge of Central Americans. Instead, the data suggests Mexicans have turned against the migrants transiting through their own country, expressing antipathy that would be familiar to many supporters of President Trump north of the border. “
The Post noted that Mexicans have changed course regarding illegal immigration, citing a 2018 survey by the Pew Research Center in which 57% of Mexicans felt immigrants chiefly strengthen Mexico.
The Post may not have noticed, but last month a new poll by the Mexican newspaper El Universal showed that since October 2018, more Mexicans supported stricter immigration enforcement to keep illegal immigrants from entering Mexico. Last October, the percentage of Mexicans in the same poll who agreed that tougher immigration was necessary was 49%; that percentage rose to 61% in June.
In April, USA Today reported, “Mexican authorities said a group of about 350 migrants broke the locks on a border gate Friday and forced their way into southern Mexico to join a larger group of migrants trying to make their way toward the United States. The National Immigration Institute did not identify the nationalities of the migrants, but they are usually from Central America. A similar confrontation occurred on the same border bridge between Mexico and Guatemala last year.”
The Washington Post/Reforma poll also did its best to paint a picture of President Trump in a negative light, asking, “Are you aware that Mexico and the United States signed an agreement to combat migration of undocumented people from Central America to Mexico and prevent them from getting to the United States?” that was followed with this question: “Do you believe that this agreement was negotiated by the two countries or that the United States imposed it on Mexico?”