An increasing number of Latino Democrats support "more control" of the border

According to a Public Opinion Strategies poll conducted for Latino advocacy organization LIBRE Initiative, the percentage of Latino Democrats who say they support more "control" of the border increased by 8 points during the last year, from 55% in July 2023 to 63% this May.

The poll, reported by The Washington Examiner, reveals that the trend is even more pronounced among Democratic-leaning Latinos, increasing by 20 points. Independent voters, while still supportive of the idea, decrease by 4 points in the same time span.

According to a memo obtained by the Examiner, Public Opinion Strategies partner Jim Hobart, revealed further information about the poll:

"Much like the rest of the country, Hispanics view the legal immigration system as broken (86% agree) and also say that the country needs to do what is necessary to control our southern border in order to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into our country (73%). Notably, the support for controlling our southern border is bipartisan, with north of 60% of Hispanic Democrats in favor of doing what is necessary to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into this country."

A majority of Latinos said they support immigration reforms, including creating more legal immigration pathways (87%) in addition to providing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, or "Dreamers," and other undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children a pathway to citizenship (81%).

Other insights from the LIBRE Initiative-Public Opinion Strategies poll included:

• 72% of Latino voters consider the country to be headed in the wrong direction, while 28% contend it's on the right track.
• Regarding whether they consider themselves better off than they were four years ago, 49% told pollsters they are worse off, 27% better off, and 25% about the same.
• 88% of Latinos agree that the American Dream is harder to achieve now than before while 62% strongly disagree with the statement.