Across the political spectrum, Americans are worried about the rising number of migrants apprehended after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll.
But whatever their misgivings about the situation at the border, majorities of poll respondents favor creating a legal pathway to citizenship for certain groups of immigrants already living in the country.
“Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about the situation at the border and the number of migrants coming in, but at the same time, many are still in favor of reforming the system,” said Mallory Newall, a research director at Ipsos.
“We see support for allowing law-abiding migrants to become citizens under specific circumstances,” Newall said, “and also reforms to ensure better treatment of those at the border, particularly children.”
Roughly four out of five Americans, regardless of partisan affiliation, identified the situation at the Southern border as a “problem,” though Republicans were more likely than Democrats to call it a “major problem.”
