A majority of Americans back building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, according to a new survey.
The new Monmouth University poll found that 53 percent of respondents support backing a border wall, which the polling center says is the first time a majority of respondents supported the proposal since it started asking the question in 2015. Forty-six percent said they opposed building the wall, according to the poll.
Monmouth University noted that support for the wall has increased over the past eight years among Republicans and independents but decreased among Democrats. During the Trump administration, the poll found that support for the wall was no higher than 44 percent and at some points stood as low as 35 percent.
The last time Monmouth asked the question about the wall was in April 2019. At that time, 42 percent said they would back building a wall along the border.
Support appears to have strengthened as immigration continues to be a top concern ahead of the election and as former President Trump tightens his grip on the Republican presidential nomination.
“Illegal immigration has taken center stage as a defining issue this presidential election year. Other Monmouth polling found this to be Biden’s weakest policy area, including among his fellow Democrats,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, in a statement.
The poll found that more than 8 in 10 Americans see illegal immigration as a very serious or somewhat serious problem, a sharp rise over the past decade.
Between 2015 and 2019, the poll said the percentage of Americans seeing illegal immigration as a very serious problem ranged between 43 and 49 percent. This includes a sharp jump among Republicans, with 91 percent saying it was a serious problem in the 2024 poll compared with 77 percent who said so in a 2019 poll.
The poll also found that 61 percent of Americans say those seeking political asylum at the border should be required to stay in Mexico while their claims are processed, which is an increase from the 51 percent who said the same in 2019.
The poll was conducted among 902 adults from Feb. 8-12 and has a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points.