A majority of Americans say that Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has not “clearly explained” her stance on illegal immigration even as it has become one of the top issues for voters, a new poll from Pew found.
The poll of Americans from Pew Research, conducted from September 30th to October 6th, found that more than 60 percent say that Democratic candidate for president Kamala Harris has not “clearly explained her policies” regarding illegal immigration.
Multiple public opinion surveys have found that illegal immigration is one of the top issues on the minds of voters as the November election draws near.
A sizable majority of respondents in the Pew poll, 70 percent, say that former President Donald Trump has clearly articulated his plan to address illegal immigration. The poll, which had 5,110 respondents, also found that majorities also believe that Harris has not clearly explained her positions on strengthening the economy, foreign policy, the wars between Russia and Ukraine or Israel and Hamas, or healthcare. Abortion was the only issue from the list of seven that respondents say Harris has adequately explained her stance on.
A majority of voters said that Trump has clearly explained his stances on abortion, strengthening the economy, and foreign policy in addition to illegal immigration.
The Pew poll results come as the Democratic candidate has attempted to pivot on immigration, marketing herself as a “border state prosecutor” despite the Biden-Harris administration presiding over unprecedented surges in illegal immigration on both the southern and northern borders. One recent advertisement from Harris, which implied that the Democrat was in favor of securing the border, even included a shot of Trump’s border wall.
Over 10 million people have crossed the border under the Biden-Harris administration, with an estimated 1.7 million illegal immigrant gotaways recorded since he was inaugurated in 2021. The figures present a stark contrast from the Trump administration, when there were 415,000 total reported gotaways for 2018, 2019, and 2020.
