Poll: 5-in-8 Americans Call Border Control ‘More Important’ than Amnesty

About 5-in-8 likely United States voters say getting a handle on the flood of illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border is more important than providing amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, a survey finds.

A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 likely U.S. voters found 62 percent said “gaining control of the border” was more important than providing amnesty to the roughly 11 to 22 million illegal aliens living in the U.S. Only about 31 percent of voters said amnesty was more important than border control.

Among Republicans and conservatives, amnesty is wildly unpopular, the survey confirmed. Roughly 82 percent of Republicans and 86 percent of conservatives said border control is more important than amnesty. A majority of swing voters, 62 percent, said the same while only 26 percent said amnesty was more important than border control.

The issue resonates significantly with America’s working poor, working class, and lower-middle class who are the most likely to compete for U.S. jobs against illegal aliens and foreign visa workers.

For example, nearly 70 percent of Americans without a high school diploma said border control is more important than amnesty while 68 percent of those who did not finish college said the same. Similarly, 61 percent of those with only a high school diploma said border control is more important than amnesty.

The survey comes as the Democrat-controlled House passed two amnesty bills, with the support of a handful of House Republicans, that would legally push millions of illegal aliens into the U.S. workforce to take jobs that would otherwise go to Americans.

While a group of Senate Democrats and Republicans met to discuss the amnesty bills last week, a number of Senate Republicans have confirmed to Breitbart News their opposition to the legislation. Democrats need at least ten Republicans to back the amnesty bills.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is lobbying on behalf of both amnesties, calling their passage “critically important” in a statement. The Chamber represents the interests of big businesses who see mass immigration as a boon to their profit margins as they can cut the cost of labor by artificially inflating the labor market.

Independent analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has repeatedly noted how amnesty and high immigration levels deplete U.S. wages.

In 2013, CBO analysis stated that the “Gang of Eight” amnesty plan would “slightly” push down wages for the American workers. A 2020 CBO analysis stated “immigration has exerted downward pressure on the wages of relatively low-skilled workers who are already in the country, regardless of their birthplace.”

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.