Majority of Americans Now Favor the Construction of a Border Wall for First Time Ever in Major Poll

A majority of Americans threw their support behind construction of a southern border wall for the first time ever since Monmouth University started asking the question in 2015.

According to the survey released on Tuesday, 53 percent said they favor finishing construction on a border wall amid a spike in crossings, while 46 percent said they are opposed.

Over 60 percent also identified illegal immigration as a “very serious” problem for the United States. Another 23 percent called it a “somewhat serious” problem, and another 10 percent called it not so serious. Only 5 percent described it as “not at all serious.” Monmouth noted that concern about illegal immigration has gone up across partisan lines after comparing the latest data to similar surveys taken during the presidencies of Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

On the construction of a border wall, favorability spiked in September 2015 at 45 percent and fell to a low of 35 by the same time in 2017. Opposition was at 43 percent in September 2015 and then jumped to 60 by 2017. By April 2019, 56 percent opposed the construction, leaving a 10 point drop since then.

Monmouth University’s latest poll was conducted Feb. 8-12 among more than 900 U.S. adults. It was conducted by phone and carries a margin of error of 4.1% for the entire sample of data.

The southern border remains a divisive issue for both major parties ahead of the November presidential election. President Joe Biden and Trump are even planning dueling visits to the border this week. The former will visit Brownsville, Texas, while the other will be in Eagle Pass at the same time.

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