This article first appeared on the Texas Tribune
Compared to 2017, more Texans see immigration as harmful and want undocumented immigrants deported, and fewer see immigration as helping US according to a poll released Tuesday by the Texas Lyceum, a nonpartisan leadership training group.
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Immigration was the top issue facing Texas, survey respondents said — though they reported mixed views on specific impacts. Rising prices and border security were a close second and third, according to the Lyceum’s annual poll, which collected responses from 1,200 adults in the Lone Star State, about 69% of them registered voters.
Texans were evenly split, at 32% each, on whether immigration helps the United States more than it hurts, or hurts more than it helps. Another 30% said it was a little bit of both.
Those views have shifted sharply since 2017, when 62% of respondents said immigration helps more than it hurts. Twenty-seven percent said it hurts more than it helps that year, and just 6% said a little bit of both.
This year, a significantly higher portion of people, 68%, said they believed President Trump would deport undocumented immigrants compared to 2017, when 50% said that would happen, according to the poll. In the poll, 44% said they want him to do so — up from 31% in 2017.
And while 29% of those who responded said they were extremely concerned with illegal immigration, 63% also said they believed undocumented immigrants fill jobs American citizens don’t want.
When it comes to personal finances, meanwhile, 41% of respondents said they were worse off than a year ago, and another 36% said their situation was the same. Just 23% said they were better off.
The Lyceum also polled people on how well they felt they were being represented: 55% approved of Gov. Greg Abbott’s job performance, up from 49% last year. Both Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton — who is running for a U.S. Senate seat — earned 42% approval, while 46% of Texans polls approved of how well of a job the state legislature is doing.
The poll was conducted from March 28 to April 4, via phone and the internet. The overall margin of error was 3 percentage points.
And while Texans were split on many issues, there was at least one statement that drew a majority of support: 68% said they would rather see their political leaders compromise and find middle ground on key issues, rather than stand their ground.
Disclosure: Texas Lyceum has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism.
