A Nation of Immigrants? Diverging Perceptions of Immigrants Increasingly Marking Partisan Divides
In 2019, Americans listed immigration among their top concerns, but underneath that shared concern are deep partisan disagreements over policies and in perceptions of how immigrants impact American society.
Nearly half of Americans (49%) rate immigration as a critical issue, 42% say it is one of many important issues, and only 9% say it is not important at all. The only issues Americans are more likely to say are critical are health care (65%) and terrorism (54%), with nearly half also saying climate change (49%) is a critical issue. Americans have grown more likely to say immigration is a critical issue since 2016 (from 44% to 49%).[16]
Republicans (60%) are notably more likely than Democrats (49%) and independents (42%) to rate immigration as a critical issue. Republican and Trump-leaning groups are most likely to say immigration is a critical issue, including strong majorities of Republicans who trust Fox News most to provide accurate information about politics and current events (73%) and those who approve of the job Trump is doing as president (60%).
PRRI. (2020). A nation of immigrants? Diverging perceptions of immigrants increasingly marking partisan divides. Retrieved from https://www.prri.org/research/a-nation-of-immigrants-diverging-perceptions-of-immigrants-increasingly-marking-partisan-divides/