Fox News’ poll shows that an overwhelming number of Americans now support the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall amid the immigration crisis.
In the news network’s survey, 48 percent of the respondents said that the situation at the southern border is an emergency, up from 27 percent who felt that way in February 2019.
The increase in concern comes mainly from black voters (+27), independents (+26), Democrats (+24), Hispanic voters (+23), and men (+20), with each group being at least 20 points more likely to now call it an emergency.
57 percent have also shown support for building a wall in the U.S.-Mexico border, an 8 percent increase from February.
The survey was conducted by Fox News’ Daron Shaw and Chris Anderson, who also gave their insights on the sudden surge of border wall supporters.
“The images we’ve seen from the Rio Grande River in recent weeks are compelling,” says Shaw, a Republican. “Border security is clearly a problem for the Biden administration and their shift on funding for the wall reflects the strategic need to neutralize the issue in advance of the 2024 elections.”
“This would be a great time to have a functioning Congress,” says Anderson, a Democrat. “The consequences of inaction on immigration reform are inflicting pain in red and blue states and the broad middle of the electorate agrees on a range of reforms that should be no-brainers to Congress.”
This comes as the Biden administration recently approved the construction of a new wall in Starr County, Texas.
“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,” said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a notice posted on the U.S. Federal Registry.
The border wall was one of former President Donald Trump’s biggest campaign promises, and his administration constructed about 450 miles of border barriers between 2017 and January 2021.
The decision to build the wall contradicts President Joe Biden’s previous promise to end the construction, saying that “building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution.”
