« The construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border is seen by the Amercians as a less important goal for immigration policy than several other objectives, such as cracking down on visa overstays » says a recent study of the américan Think Tank Pew Research Center.
« Asked about eight possible goals for U.S. immigration policy, majorities rate each one as important, except one: Only 39% view building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border as a very or somewhat important goal.
Most Americans (58%) say it is important to increase the number of deportations of people in the U.S. illegally. The most widely supported goal for U.S. immigration policy is to establish stricter policies to prevent people from overstaying visas. Nearly eight-in-ten (77%) view this as an important goal.
Among other immigration goals, 73% say it is important that those in the U.S. illegally do not get government benefits if they are not qualified to receive them, while 72% say it is important to allow people who came to the U.S. illegally as children to remain in the U.S. and apply for legal status ».
There are partisan differences on each of these goals for U.S. immigration policy, but the widest by far is over building a southern border wall. Two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (67%) say construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is an important goal for immigration policy, compared with just 16% of Democrats and Democratic leaners.
While most Republicans regard a U.S.-Mexican border wall as an important goal, larger shares of Republicans see other goals for immigration policy as important: 93% say it is very or somewhat important to prevent immigrants in the U.S. illegally from receiving government benefits they are not qualified for; 90% say it is important to establish stricter policies to prevent visa overstays; and 81% see increased deportations of those in the U.S. illegally as important.
Pew Research Center
