Nearly half of Democrats approve of Biden border action, poll finds

President Joe Biden’s executive action on immigration isn’t a slam dunk with voters, but it’s not entirely alienating Democrats and independents either, according to a new Monmouth University poll.

Democrats’ views of Biden’s border crackdown are consistent with voters across the board: 40 percent of registered voters approve of the move, 27 percent are opposed and 33 percent say they have no opinion. The executive order announced last week, which clamped down on migrants seeking asylum by establishing a numeric threshold that triggers closure of the Southern border between ports of entry, has the approval of 38 percent of Democrats, 40 percent of independents and 44 percent of Republicans.

The findings come as Biden seeks to boost voters’ perception of his handling of the border just months before the November election. The president is aiming to unify a Democratic base split on immigration, appeal to independents seeking a tougher hand and take action to lessen Republicans’ campaign advantage on the issue.

Nearly half of Democrats, 49 percent, view Biden’s executive action as “about right” when it comes to addressing illegal immigration, according to the poll. Twenty-four percent of Democrats view the order as “too tough,” and 19 percent say it is “not tough enough.” Overall, 22 percent of Democrats oppose the action.

Of the Democrats who say they oppose Biden’s move, 82 percent called it “too tough.” That’s in line with the views of a vocal faction of frustrated progressives who urged the president to pursue other kinds of immigration relief. In response, the administration is considering new actions for undocumented immigrants, with a particular focus on a “parole in place” policy for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.

Regardless of whether they favor or oppose Biden’s action, Republicans are united in their desire for a stronger crackdown on illegal immigration, with 74 percent calling the move “not tough enough.” Just 4 percent describe it as “too tough,” and 17 percent of Republicans say it is “about right.” Republicans are betting that Biden’s low approval ratings on immigration will help the party peel voters away from the president’s coalition, while Biden is seeking to hammer Republicans on their obstruction of a bipartisan border deal earlier this year.

“Frankly, I would have preferred to address this issue through bipartisan legislation,” Biden said when announcing the move, “but Republicans left me with no choice.”

The poll found that a slight majority of voters approve of Biden’s action — greater than the percentage of voters which approved of a House immigration bill and a bipartisan Senate border bill earlier this year, the latter of which was derailed by former President Donald Trump’s opposition.

Biden’s executive action, which is still being implemented, allows the president to close the border when crossings exceed an average of 2,500 per day over the period of a week. When average crossings have reached 1,500 or fewer for seven consecutive days, DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas can reopen the border two weeks later. During these high-volume periods when the border is closed, migrants facing apprehensions along the border will not be allowed to seek asylum.

Despite the more aggressive approach on immigration, Biden’s approval numbers have not improved, the Monmouth poll found, with 38 percent approving his job performance — down marginally from 42 percent in April.

The Monmouth University poll was conducted June 6-10, surveying 1,106 adults by telephone. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.8 percentage points.