Immigration has surpassed health care as the issue that voters see as the most important facing the United States, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey released exclusively to The Hill. The survey shows 42% of registered voters pointed to immigration as the top issue, compared to 38% who chose health care, as reported by The Hill.
Older people were more likely to pick immigration as their top issue, with 55% of voters 65 and older saying so. A quarter of voters aged 18-24 chose immigration as the most important issue. The Harvard/Harris Poll shows just how prominent a role immigration is poised to play in the 2020 election, especially after health care dominated the debate stage late last week in Miami's Democratic Primary debate.
Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, stated:
For most of the last few years health care, a Democratic issue, has been the most important issue, but as the full nature of the problems at the border became evident, it has risen to the top issue in the country. That's why Democrats in the Senate and House got together to pass emergency relief legislation.
This is expected to be received as good news by the Trump Administration as President Trump continues to hinge much of his political future on a hard-line message of cracking down on illegal border crossings as well as tightening legal immigration, as reported by The Hill. Democrats, on the other hand, are advocating for looser restrictions on immigration, with many presidential hopefuls coming out in favor of open borders, tax-payer funded health care for illegal aliens, and decriminalizing illegal immigration.
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