A Democratic pollster says there’s only one issue that will play a bigger role in the fall elections than immigration and that’s the economy.
Nancy Zdunkewicz, who is managing director of Democracy Corps, says the media will continue to cover the controversy surrounding families who were separated at the border, but that doesn’t mean it will be the election’s focal point.
“I do not think this is going to be more of an issue than the economy in November. Most people now consider this to be a settled issue in the CBS poll,” Zdunkewicz told the Hill.TV’s “What America’s Thinking.”
Zdunkewicz was referring to the the latest CBS News poll, which found that 67 percent of Americans believe it’s unacceptable for an immigrant child to be separated from their parents at the border. The higher percentage reflected overwhelming opposition from Democrats and independents.
Republicans were more divided, with thirty-nine percent calling Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy unacceptable.
Zdunkewicz thinks immigration will still play a bigger role than the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Obama-era program allowed nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to work and go to school in the country.
In September, Trump moved to phase out the Obama-era program, but court actions have stalled the administration.
House Republicans are expected to move forward this week on their compromise immigration bill, but it still faces an up-hill battle.
“I think that it will have more legs than the Dreamer issue. We already see that in soon of the polling, just the bump in the Pew polling on it being a top issue or concern in the election is much greater than it was in January,” Zdunkewicz said.
— Tess Bonn
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