Trump gets renewed boost as polls show Biden’s border crisis has pushed immigration to the forefront of American minds

Americans’ top concern, with just six months until the November elections, remains immigration for the third month in a row.

Before April 2024 Gallup pollGovernment comes in second when it comes to the “most important American problem among Americans,” followed by the economy and inflation in third and fourth place, respectively.

But a large number of voters – 27 percent – ​​say immigration was the issue top of mind ahead of the 2024 presidential election. This is a decrease of one percent from February and March, when it was 28 percent, but remains at the top of the list.

The results come as illegal immigration continues to rise under President Joe Biden and Republican voters feel more mobilized than ever to vote for a leader who will close the border.

While immigration is the biggest issue, it is also the most polarizing.

In February, a record number of Republicans cited immigration as their biggest problem: 57 percent. In the April poll, 48 percent of Republicans named the country No. 1, compared to just eight percent of Democrats.

Independent mentions of immigration are at a new high at 25 percent.

The final issue that was almost as polarizing as immigration for this survey was the COVID-19 pandemic, which 43 percent of Democrats cited as the most important issue, compared to just eight percent of Republicans in February 2021.

Gallup’s question is open-ended and allows respondents to name up to three issues that they believe are the most important facing Americans today.

In the January polls, government was the most important issue for voters, with just a one percent lead on immigration. By December 2023, the two issues were linked.

Immigration has reached the top of Gallup’s top issue list only five times since 2000 — outside of the three consecutive times it has been No. 1 in recent months. It ranked alone or tied for first in 2014, 2018 and 2019.

This year marks the first time that immigration has held its spot as the top issue for Americans for several consecutive months and marks the longest period at the top of the list for this specific issue in the past 24 years.

Illegal immigration in the US has soared under President Joe Biden – and Donald Trump is promising to tackle the issue on day one if he wins another term in the White House in the November election. PicturedL Asylum seekers are transported by Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico into California on April 29, 2024

Gallup’s results spell trouble for Biden as most blame him for the border crisis. The three most important issues after immigration are the government, the economy in general, and inflation

In January, 20 percent of Americans cited immigration as their top problem, but that rose to 28 percent in February and remained at that level in March before dropping to 27 percent in April.

Meanwhile, the government caseload has fallen by one percentage point every month since the start of the year, reaching 21 percent in January.

Those who list the economy as their top concern speak generally about the state of the U.S. economic situation and how it affects it — while others answer the open question by saying that inflation is specifically the biggest problem for Americans.

The “economy in general” has historically been the most cited as the top issue, topping the list 101 times. And the government has the second most consistent times at the top of the list with 85 in Gallup election history.

The Gallup poll was based on a survey conducted April 1 to 22.