T he partisan chasm on immigration proposals is so wide that there is little, if any, common ground to be found between the right and left on policy solutions, according to a new poll commissioned by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
The survey, conducted by Ipsos, asked respondents to rate their support or opposition to eight different immigration policies, and none of the proposals received majority support from both Democrats and Republicans.
Of all respondents, 66 percent said they would support making it easier for people fleeing violence to immigrate to the United States; 84 percent of Democrats supported that idea, as did 64 percent of independents and 49 percent of Republicans.
Raising penalties on businesses hiring undocumented workers was supported by 85 percent of Republican respondents, 67 percent of independents, 66 percent of all respondents, and 48 percent of Democrats.
And increasing deportations found support from 89 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of independents, 65 percent of all respondents, and 46 percent of Democrats.
The poll comes as the Biden administration is weighing options to address immigration through executive action, including potentially making more immigrants eligible to work legally or cracking down on asylum at the border.
In the survey, proposals leaning toward making it easier for foreign nationals to immigrate or regularize their status received the approval of at least 73 percent of Democrats, and only cracked 40 percent approval among Republicans in one case.
The proposal with the largest Republican-Democrat split was expansion of the border wall. An overwhelming 87 percent of Republicans approve that idea, while only 28 percent of Democrats do. Overall, respondents were evenly split on the wall: 52 percent of independents and 54 percent of respondents overall approve further wall construction.
Democratic support was highest for crating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently in the country: 85 percent of Democrats, 60 percent of respondents overall and 59 percent of independents support that notion, though only 33 percent of Republicans agree.
A toned-down version of a path to citizenship, “establishing a way for most immigrants currently in the country illegally to stay here legally,” drew the support of 80 percent of the poll’s Democratic respondents, 54 percent of respondents overall, and 52 percent of independents.