Americans Overwhelmingly Blame Feds for Border Crisis, Believe States Will Have to Fix Problem

Overwhelming Majority of Americans Blame Federal Government for Border Crisis

According to a recent poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group for Convention of States Action, almost 87% of Americans blame the federal government for the border crisis. The poll asked respondents whether they believed it was the responsibility of states or the federal government to handle the increased costs at the southern border. With local and state government law enforcement resources overwhelmed by the large increase in illegal immigrants and asylum seekers needing assistance and increased drug cartel activity, the majority of both Republicans and Democrats agreed that it was the federal government’s responsibility.

Republicans and Democrats Agree on Federal Government’s Responsibility

Among Republicans, 91% said it was the federal government’s responsibility. Surprisingly, only slightly fewer Democrats, 83%, gave the same response. “I’ve never seen a poll like this — 87% of the American public blames the federal government for the problem at the border,” said President of Convention of States Action Mark Meckler. “What was most interesting is you dig into … the crosstabs — all the Democrats, breakdowns by age, by party, by race — what you saw was no difference literally within a few points across the board. So it’s almost 90% of people blame the federal government. And they expect that the states are going to have to fix it. They don’t believe that the federal government’s going to fix the problem.”

Lack of Confidence in Federal Government’s Plan

An overwhelming 94% of Republicans surveyed were either “not confident at all” or “not very confident” the federal government “has a plan to address the widespread drug and human trafficking occurring at the U.S./Mexico border” — but even 36% of Democrats expressed a similar lack of confidence.

Illegal Immigration Skyrockets Under Biden Administration

Illegal immigration across the southern border has skyrocketed under the Biden administration, overwhelming the resources of the U.S. Border Patrol and border states and communities alike. Customs and Border Patrol agents reported encountering more than 2.7 million migrants nationwide, mostly along the southern border, in fiscal year 2022. Migrant encounters at the U.S. border with Mexico surged 23% in March of this year.

Rally Demands Action from Elected Officials

On Saturday, a rally led by the “HOW MANY MORE” coalition assembled in front of the Texas capitol to demand elected officials take action for what is happening at the border. Key speakers included Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy and Mark Meckler. The rally centered around issues including Fentanyl trafficking, human trafficking, and national security concerns. “We call it ‘How Many More?’ because we have to ask ourselves that question,” said Meckler. “How many more kids are we gonna allow to be sold into slavery? How many young girls and women and boys sold into sexual slavery? How many more fentanyl deaths are we going to allow in the country right now?”

Child Trafficking Crisis at the Border

A House Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing earlier this week titled “The Biden Border Crisis: Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien Children,” which included testimony from Tara Lee Rodas, a whistleblower from the Department of Health and Human Services. “Whether intentional or not, it can be argued that the U.S. Government has become the middleman in a large scale, multi-billion-dollar, child trafficking operation run by bad actors seeking to profit off the lives of children,” read Rodas’s written testimony, according to Fox News. Norman called the child trafficking crisis at the border “evil.”

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