Poll:
Plurality Want Less or Zero Legal Migration
Neil
Munro 17 Dec 2025 breitbart.com
Two-thirds
of Republicans want legalized migration to be decreased or ended, says a new
poll by YouGov.
In
contrast, 17 percent of Democrats want legalized migration to be cut
back, says the poll of 1,632 citizens, which was conducted December
11-15.
But
37 percent of Democratic voters want more legal migration, and as does six
percent of GOP voters, said the poll.
Amid
the partisan polarization, there is a two-to-one plurality for less migration
vs more migration. Just 18 percent of citizens want legalized migration to be
increased, while 35 percent want it decreased or zeroed.
Twenty-five
percent said the number should not be changed, even though establishment
outlets rarely described the actual inflow of legalized migrants each year.
Under Joe Biden, the inflow of all migrants was roughly level with the number
of births.
Each
year, the federal government imports more than 1.2 million legalized permanent
or temporary migrants. That is roughly one legalized migrant for every three
births.
The
26 percent who favor “decreased” migration is the plurality score in the YouGov
poll, partly because an unusually large 19 percent of respondents declined to
reveal their preference.
The
December poll was a close match for a prior November poll by YouGov.
Other
polls
show overwhelming support for the deportation of all illegal migrants who
commit major crimes, and a solid majority support for the deportation of all
illegal migrants.
The
sharp partisan differences in migration help to explain the wild swings in U.S.
immigration policies during the last decade, and why Congress cannot forge a
compromise.
But
opinion polls also seem to show wild swings in public support for and against
migration. For example, a new Gallup poll shows apparent support for more
migration amid President Donald Trump’s curbs on legal and illegal migration.
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But
the small print in the Gallup poll says the result excluded comments from
people “who volunteer that the effects [of migration] are ‘mixed’ or who do not
have an opinion.”
The
Gallup skew was ignored by pro-migration advocates. “You’ve already lost,”
taunted Taiwanese immigrant Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) in a December 17 social-media
message that spotlighted results from the Gallup poll. “America is even more
pro immigration under your watch.”
In
general, “When looking more deeply at attitudes on immigration, sentiment
can vary widely based on the details included in specific poll questions,
reflecting the complexity of the issue,” the New York Times reported in November. It continued:
When
polls mention “border security,” approval tends to be higher. In a Marquette Law School poll taken this month,
more than half of Americans — 54 percent — said they approved of Mr. Trump’s
handling of “border security” — nine percentage points higher than the share
who approved of him on “immigration.”
But
less than a third of Americans favored deporting undocumented immigrants to
“foreign prisons in El Salvador, Rwanda, or Libya” in a P.R.R.I. poll taken from August to September.
And there is little support for the idea of deporting immigrants who are in the
country legally.
Overall,
many polls reveal that Americans want to like — and to be seen liking —
immigrants and immigration, even as the majority also oppose the damage caused
by loose borders.
The
economic damage includes lower wages, high housing costs, chaotic diversity,
and raucous politics, while the benefits flow overwhelmingly to migrants,
employers, and older investors.
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This
tension between generously wanting to like migrants and the reality of
migration’s consequences can be seen in polls.
For
example, a new YouTube poll shows a huge income-related gap in attitudes
towards migration. The “increased” immigration option is backed by just 13
percent of people who earn less than $50,000 per year — and by 27 percent of
people who earn more than $100,000 per year. In contrast, the racial gap is far
smaller: Just 17 percent of whites and 22 percent of Hispanics favor more
migration.
