The Border Wall Has Never Been More Popular

The border crisis has caused many people to reevaluate their posture on immigration — most notably those in the Biden administration.

But perhaps the most illustrative shift in Americans’ border politics concerns the signature proposal of Biden’s predecessor: the border wall.

As border crossings and concern about the border both reach record highs, the wall is suddenly more popular than ever, it seems.

Multiple recent polls have shown support for building a wall along the southern border cresting a majority.

Late last year, it was Quinnipiac University and Fox News polling that showed between 52 and 57 percent supported its construction. On Monday, it was a Monmouth University poll that pegged support at 53 percent.

This comes after the support for the wall was mostly mired in the 30s during Donald Trump’s presidency {snip}

It’s likely that Trump’s presidency actually depressed support for the wall, since many people associated it with his unpopular brand. {snip}

What seems to have happened is that Trump being out of office has combined with record migrant encounters at the border and levels of concern about the situation — a two-decade-high 55 percent labeled illegal immigration a “critical threat” in a Gallup poll released Tuesday — to push support to new highs.

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The numbers are also apparently unprecedented across other polls even before Trump’s foray into politics.

{snip} The very first polls, in 1993, showed support shy of 30 percent, with two-thirds of Americans opposed.

Polling between then and when Trump took office was infrequent. It usually showed support in the 40s {snip} And its previous high was 53 percent (in 2010) — just shy of the 57 percent it showed in October and the 54 percent in December.

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