WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — President Joe Biden must address immigration concerns in the coming year as a large majority of Americans express little or no confidence in his ability to handle several issues, including the border crisis.
The Pew Research poll found only 32% of Americans are “very confident” in the president’s ability to make wise decisions about immigration policy — down from 53% two years ago. 67% of Americans were “not at all confident.”
There were similar declines in views of Biden’s handling of immigration, which dropped 21 points from 53% in 2022 to 32% in 2023. His ability to bring the country together dropped 24 points from 48% in 2022 to 24% in 2023.
Confidence in Biden to handle an international crisis dropped eight points since last year from 43% to 35%. However, 35% share confidence in Biden to work effectively with Congress — it’s largely unchanged from last year only dropping six points.
The results come as the border crisis appears to intensify for Biden. December might establish a record for border encounters, as a migrant caravan of thousands near Texas grows larger and mayors in major cities continue to plea for help in handling daily arrivals of migrants.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to discuss the surging number of border encounters. Discussions focused on reinforcing entry point enforcement and intercepting migrants in Mexico.
Obrador, in a social media post, stated both sides reached important deals but didn’t disclose specifics.
Now, the mayors of New York City, Chicago and Denver are urgently seeking assistance in managing the influx of migrants bused and flown up from the border. In the past year, Texas has bused more than 80,000 migrants to Democratic-led cities.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order requiring buses chartered by Texas to arrive in the morning hours at a designated location, providing 36 hours’ notice to avoid fines or lawsuits.
Chicago and Denver have implemented similar regulations, yet the mayors stress the need for additional support.
“We cannot allow buses with people needing our help to arrive without warning at any hour of day and night,” Adams said. “This not only prevents us from providing assistance in an orderly way, it puts those who have already suffered in so much in danger.”
“If there’s no federal support, no coordinated entry, no work authorization expansion — then cities would have to look at dramatically reducing the number of services we offer, or dramatically cutting our city budgets,” said Colorado Mayor Mike Johnston.
Congress is expected to increase negotiations on a border security deal in the next two weeks. Democrats push for substantial Ukraine aid funding, while Republicans seek increased hiring of border agents and additional resources to expedite asylum cases in return.
