Immigration was the most important problem facing Americans for the third straight month, according to an April 30 Gallup poll.
It is the longest span during which immigration has been the top concern for Americans, after 28 percent held this view in February and March.
The poll does not differentiate between legal and illegal immigration.
The results, derived from an April 1–22 Gallup survey, come as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set for a rematch in November.
With chaos at the southern border a prominent issue in the race, many voters are worried about its effects.
January Border Patrol data showed that a record 249,785 illegal border crossing arrests were made in December 2023, up 31 percent from the previous month.
The number of crossings has dropped, but immigration experts expect it to rise again as the weather gets warmer.
President Trump has blamed President Biden for the border issue and vowed that closing the border would be among his first actions if he wins the election.
Former President George W. Bush similarly had a 69 percent disapproval rating on immigration in February 2008, the final month in that particular Gallup survey.
President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced on April 30 that they would move to address the influx of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border with tougher airport, bus, and railway enforcement and more repatriation flights.
In the Gallup poll, 48 percent of Republicans, compared with 8 percent of Democrats and 25 percent of independents, chose immigration as the top issue.
However, GOP focus on the issue dropped from February, when a record number of 57 percent of Republicans said it was the country’s most critical problem.
Before February, the last time Americans chose immigration as the country’s top issue was in 2019.
February was also when negotiations broke down over the proposed bipartisan border bill in Congress.
In the April 30 poll, Americans listed the government as the second most important issue, at 18 percent, with the “economy in general” following, at 17 percent, and inflation in fourth place, at 13 percent.
Gallup said immigration has topped the list four times since 2000, including during certain months in 2014, 2018, and 2019.
Since 2001, topics such as the economy, the government, the Iraq War, inflation, COVID-19, unemployment, and terrorism have been chosen as the top issue more often than immigration.
They have all held that spot for longer consecutive periods than three months, except for unemployment and inflation.
Over the past 24 years, the economy has been selected as the most important issue for Americans 101 times, more than any other topic.
However, Gallup said the current 40-percent gap between Republican and Democrat interest in immigration is among the largest differences on record for this topic and has stayed consistent since February.
The 2024 gaps between the two parties on immigration are greater than for any other issue within the past 25 years.
Another issue that saw a similar gap in interest between the two parties was the COVID-19 pandemic, when 43 percent of Democrats in February 2021 chose it as the most critical issue, as opposed to only 8 percent of Republicans.
There were also large gaps regarding the Iraq War and the government in general. During September 2004, for instance, 29 percent of Republicans selected terrorism as the top issue and 9 percent of Democrats did the same.
However, Gallup said Republicans and Democrats were roughly aligned on terrorism right after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and on the economy during the Great Recession following the 2008 financial crisis.
Gallup’s survey was open-ended and allowed respondents to name whatever three issues mattered most to them.
