President Trump is losing his battle over immigration in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion.
Six-in-ten Americans say immigrants strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents, compared with 27% who say immigrants are a burden because they take jobs, housing and health care, a survey published in December by the Pew Research Center shows.
The share of Americans who regard immigrants as more of a strength than a burden reached its highest level in more than 20 years, the survey found.
Support for immigrants among Americans runs counter to policies pursued by the president, who wants to build a wall along the southern border, round up and deport people who are in the country without documentation, and ban travel to the U.S. from six predominantly Muslim countries. A series of federal courts have blocked the White House from enforcing the ban after concluding that it disfavors Islam in violation of the the First Amendment.
Still, attitudes toward immigration differ along party lines, which may explain why Trump returns repeatedly to the topic. Though 82% of Democrats think immigrants strengthen the country (13% say they’re a burden), 44% of Republicans say immigrants are a burden, compared with 39% of Republicans who say immigrants strengthen the country, Pew found.
Immigration also divides the GOP along demographic lines. More than half (51%) of Republicans with a college education say immigrants strengthen the country, compared with 34% who say they’re a burden. In the 2016 election, two-thirds (67%) of white voters without a college degree backed Trump, compared with 28% who supported Hillary Clinton – the largest margin among whites without a college degree in exit polls since 1980.
Among Democrats, wide majorities of all groups within the party say immigrants strengthen the country.