Survey: Half of Americans Support Border Wall as Biden Administration Seeks to Remove Border Barrier in Texas

Half of Americans support building a wall along the United States border with Mexico, while only one in three are opposed to a wall, according to a YouGov survey conducted Monday.

The poll of 40,513 U.S. adults throughout the United States found that 50 percent of respondents are in favor of building a wall, including pluralities of sub-demographics like black and Hispanic Americans, women, and independents. Conversely, 33 percent of all respondents are against a border wall, and 17 percent are unsure.

Do you support or oppose building a wall along the U.S. – Mexico border?

Support 50%
Oppose 33%
—
Male: 56-33
Female: 45-36
Dem: 34-51
GOP: 79-12
Indie: 44-33
18-29 y/o: 47-30
White: 54-33
Black: 45-30
Hispanic: 42-40
—@YouGovAmerica | n=40,513 | 1/29https://t.co/buMii7b0Mu pic.twitter.com/KPruUClpkI

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) January 29, 2024

Regarding black Americans, 45 percent are in favor of a wall, versus 30 percent who are not. Similarly, a plurality of 42 percent of Hispanics polled expressed their support for a wall, though it narrowly eclipses the 40 percent of Latinos that voiced their opposition to one. 

Democrats have for years relied heavily on black and Hispanic voters in building coalitions. Pluralities of both demographics backing a border wall — which is a top priority for MAGA Republicans — are likely alarming for Democrats. 

Moreover, women and independents both back a border wall by significant margins. Of the women polled, 45 percent support a wall versus 36 percent who are anti-wall; 44 percent of independents are pro-wall, while 33 percent are against one.

Interestingly, support sees very little change across all regional demographics. In the deep-blue Northeast, the Midwest, and the West, 49 percent of Americans are behind building a border wall. The number increases to a majority of 51 percent among respondents from the South.

Moreover, 47 percent of voters in younger demographics (18-29 and 30-44) favor a wall, and support only grows among older age groups. Interestingly, just 30 percent of those 18-29 are opposed to a wall, as are 35 percent of respondents in the 30-44 age range. 

A margin of error was not specified at the time of this publication. The poll follows a separate Cygnal poll released on January 16 that found 70 percent of independents either “somewhat” or “strongly” back deporting illegal immigrants, as Breitbart News’s Neil Munro noted. 

“The detailed results from the January 11-12 poll of 2,000 likely voters show that 61 percent of Republican supporters “strongly” support deportations,” Munro noted.

The latest YouGov comes as the border showdown between Texas and the federal government continues to unfold and as Border Patrol has apprehended almost 250,000 illegal border crossers in December alone, Breitbart News Texas Associate Editor Bob Price reported.

Friday marked the deadline for the state to grant Border Patrol access to a 2.5-mile stretch of land on the Rio Grande in and around Shelby Park as Department of Homeland Security General Counsel Jonathan Meyer laid out in a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Breitbart News Texas’s Randy Clark noted: 

The letter … directly addresses Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court order freeing the Border Patrol to cut wire and fencing installed by the state to gain access to the border under their statutory authority to enter private lands without warrant within 25 miles of the border. The 5-4 decision paused a lower court’s ruling that had previously blocked such action.

On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) joined Tucker Carlson via phone call and said Texas is “prepared” to continue building barriers at the border if the Biden administration federalizes the Texas National Guard. He emphasized that if the Biden administration did federalize the Texas National Guard, it would “shock” him and that it would be a “bone-headed move” on the administration’s behalf. 

“For one, as you might imagine, we are prepared in the event that unlikely event does occur to make sure that we will be able to continue exactly what we’ve been doing over the past month, and that is building these barriers,” Abbott said.