A New York Times/Siena College poll has revealed that a majority of likely voters blame Vice President Kamala Harris for record levels of illegal immigration at the United States-Mexico border over the last three and a half years. The poll asked participants how much blame they believe should be placed on Harris for problems at the border, with 63 percent responding that she deserves “a lot of blame” or “some blame.
In April 2021, President Joe Biden assigned Harris to lead the administration’s effort in addressing issues at the southern border. As a result, many media outlets and lawmakers began referring to her as the “border czar.” However, since then, she has tried to distance herself from the issue of illegal immigration.
The poll’s results indicate that most likely voters are not convinced by Harris’s attempt to distance herself from the border issue. Only 16 percent of respondents believe that she bears “no blame at all” for record levels of illegal immigration over the last few years. Among those who do blame her, 74 percent are white non-college-educated voters, 51 percent are non-white non-college-educated voters, and 62 percent are white college-educated voters. Notably, 63 percent of swing voters also place blame on Harris for the current situation at the border.
Regarding trust in handling immigration issues, the poll discovered that 53 percent of respondents favor former President Donald Trump, while a minority of 43 percent support Harris. Among swing voters, 53 percent prefer Trump over Harris when it comes to managing immigration matters.
Trump has been a long-time advocate for mass deportations, cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, and tightening the labor market by curbing the flow of foreign workers into American jobs. In contrast, Harris has pledged to continue Biden’s legacy on immigration, which has welcomed nearly 7 million migrants to the United States since he took office and ensured that the majority of job growth in the labor market goes to foreign workers.
The poll surveyed approximately 1,700 likely voters from September 3 to September 6. The margin of error is ±2.8 percentage points.