Americans Change Their Mind About Donald Trump's Border Wall

More than 50 percent of Americans now support the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a survey that showed a dramatic increase in public concern over illegal immigration.

According to the Monmouth University poll, 53 percent of American adults say they "favor" building a wall along the southern border against 46 percent who are opposed and 1 percent who are unsure. The figures represent a stark turnabout from April 2019, during Donald Trump's presidency, when 56 percent were opposed and only 42 percent in favor.

Monmouth University has been polling American voters on the construction of a border wall since 2015 when the idea was popularized by Trump, then a candidate the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. The only previous Monmouth survey to find a plurality in favor of a border wall was conducted in September 2015 during the Obama administration, when 48 percent were in favor and 43 percent against.

Illegal immigration over the southern border has surged over the past few years with 2,475,669 encounter's between migrants and law enforcement recorded in the 2023 fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Trump, the clear favorite for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has made cracking down on illegal immigration a centerpiece of his bid for a second White House term.

The Monmouth University survey also found 61 percent of U.S. voters think illegal immigration is a "very serious" issue for the country, with another 23 percent ranking it as "serious." By contrast, only 10 percent said it was "not too serious" with another five percent for "not at all serious."

For Republican voters specifically, 91 percent said illegal immigration is a "very serious" issue in the most recent poll, along with 58 percent of independents and 41 percent of Democrats.

There was also widespread criticism of the immigration contingents included in a bipartisan Senate bill on migration and foreign aid which was shot down by Republican hardliners, including Speaker Mike Johnson, earlier this month.

The legislation would have provided an additional $20 billion to fund border security, tightened asylum requirements and forced the government to shut the border if there is a is a 7-day rolling average of 5,000 migrant encounters per day, or 8,500 encounters in a single day.

The Monmouth survey found 47 percent of Americans think the legislation was "not tough enough" against 12 for "too tough," with another 28 percent saying it was "about right" and 14 percent unsure.

However, a clear majority of 62 percent believe illegal migrants "take jobs Americans don't want" against 28 percent who think they "take jobs away from American citizens," with another four percent answering "both" and six percent for "don't know." The survey of 902 U.S. adults was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute between February 8 and 12 by a combination of landline interviews, cell phone interviews and online surveys sent to cell phones by text.

Newsweek contacted the White House press office by email at 5:15 a.m. ET. This article will be updated if it chooses to comment.

Currently there are around 700 miles of fencing along the 1,950 mile U.S.-Mexico border, according to an analysis by Time. The Trump administration said it had built 400 miles of border wall during its time in office, but according to CBP data only around 80 miles of this was new, with the rest replacing existing structures.

According to CBP data, the number of illegal border crossings into the U.S. fell by 42 percent from 301,983 in December to 176,205 in January, the biggest month-on-month fall since the Biden administration took office.

On February 13, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in a protest against his handling of the migrant crisis. This made Mayorkas the first cabinet secretary to be impeached since 1876, though it is extremely unlikely he will be convicted by the Democratic-controlled Senate.