However, a more accurate description of the dynamic would be to say that reform efforts “repeatedly failed in recent years” because Congress stubbornly refuses to listen to the American people.
In a general sense, it’s fair to say voters would like some kind of overarching immigration reform. My own polling shows that 64 percent of voters say they believe that legal immigration is good for America while also believing that illegal immigration is bad. Such voters recognize the system is broken and want it fixed.
However, there is a simple reason that “comprehensive” immigration reform efforts are doomed to failure.
Voters do not trust the federal government.
That’s true in general—it has been more than half a century since most voters trusted the federal government to do the right thing most of the time. But it’s especially true when it comes to border security. Just 25 percent of voters believe that the federal government today is serious about even trying to secure the border.
Given that distrust, 59 percent of voters say there is no point in reforming our system of legal immigration until the border is secured. Voters aren’t looking for a bill that promises to secure the border as part of a grand compromise. They want to see proof that the border is secure before the distrusted policy elites enact other reforms. Trust but verify.
It’s important to note that this does not reflect an anti-immigrant attitude. Just 14 percent of voters say they believe that legal immigration is bad for America.
Instead, it is a recognition that America is both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. By a two-to-one margin, voters unhappy with the status quo are angry at the federal government rather than the immigrants who have answered the government’s invitation.
Still, 63 percent consider the illegal immigration crisis to be an invasion of our country (a figure that includes 53 percent of suburban women). While two-thirds (65 percent) recognize that most crossing the border illegally are simply looking for a better life, most (53 percent) also believe that a significant number of national security threats and criminals are entering illegally as well.
The longer Washington refuses to act, the more voters will demand even harsher action to stop the perceived invasion.
When President Joe Biden took office on Jan. 20, 2021, 53 percent of voters supported sending U.S. troops to the border. Over the past three years, that figure has grown to 69 percent.
If someone is pulled over for a traffic violation and found to be in the country illegally, 62 percent of voters want the driver arrested and deported. Fifty-seven percent want military and National Guard forces to identify, arrest, and deport illegal immigrants. Sixty-two percent favor expanding the border wall, and 55 percent favor ending federal funding for sanctuary cities.
Sadly, the refusal of Congress to listen is nothing new. Many years ago, when the so-called Gang of Eight lawmakers tried to pass “comprehensive” immigration reform, I delivered the same message to the weekly lunch of Senate Republicans. Voters then, like voters today, didn’t believe that the feds would follow through on border security.
The only path forward at the time was to secure the border first.
More than a decade has passed, and nothing has changed.
The only path forward is to look to, listen to, and follow what the American people are really saying—secure the border first. Figure out the rest later.
If Congress doesn’t put the voice of the American people first, the lawmakers will never fix America’s broken immigration system.
