Immigration, border security top issues for Latino voters ahead of elections, poll finds
For Latino voters, immigration and security in the southern border region are top issues ahead of the November general elections, according to the results of a national poll.
UnidosUS, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit Hispanic organization, released the results of its most recent poll on Latino voters as part of its Latino Vote Series, which began in 2006. The results provide data on the opinions of Latino voters nationwide regarding their political priorities and how these could impact their vote during the 2024 elections.
According to poll results released Thursday, issues related to the economy were a priority for respondents, including inflation, the cost of living and employment. However, immigration issues topped the list for the first time since 2016, according to polls conducted by the organization.
According to the results, providing a path to citizenship is the number one priority for Latino voters. More than half of the respondents indicated that granting citizenship to undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. for many years was a top priority, and more than 40% prioritized the path to citizenship for those under the protection of the immigration deferred action program or DACA.
Second to citizenship pathways is border security, specifically measures to combat human trafficking followed by greater security at the southern border with Mexico. Both of these options were chosen as priorities by almost 30% of respondents. The increase in legal immigration through family and employment visas was also prioritized by 30% of those polled.
Other extreme immigration control measures, such as finishing a border wall and deporting undocumented immigrants, did not emerge as top priorities for most surveyed.
Latino voters, like other Americans, are frustrated by the situation at the southern border and the apparent stalemate in Washington, D.C., over reaching an immigration solution, said Janet Murguía, president and CEO of UnidosUS, after results were presented on a nationwide call Thursday. This is evident in a greater openness among Latino voters then before, she said. However, it should not be interpreted as a fundamental change in electoral trends.
The poll results were revealed shortly after President Joe Biden signed two immigration-related executive orders that impact the border region and processing immigration cases. The first, signed early June, limits the number of people who can apply for political asylum at the southern border. The second, which was signed on Tuesday, will speed up the process to obtain a "green card" for spouses and children of U.S. citizens.
According to the results, Latino voters who identify as Republicans tend to vote in similar ways to the rest of the Republican electorate and, unlike the rest of those surveyed, prioritize border security over granting citizenship to undocumented immigrants.
A larger share of respondents said they believe the Republican Party or members of the Republican Party speak more explicitly about immigration issues than Democratic candidates. However, a larger percentage said they were more confident in the ability of Democrats and Biden to address these issues.
Similar polls conducted in 2023 and 2022 showed that Latino voters prioritized inflation, rising costs of living and employment issues.
It is estimated that more than 36 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in 2024 — 4 million more than in the 2020 elections — according to data from the Pew Research Center. Currently, Latinos make up the second largest voting-age population group in the nation, and 1 in 5 voters in this group will vote for the first time during this election cycle.
Two research firms conducted the study for UnidosUS, collecting data from a nationally representative sample of Latino voters — a total of 800 people — with an oversampling in the states of Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
UnidosUS has conducted 12 polls during or ahead of election cycles. State-by-state results for the 2024 poll will be released in late June, the organization said.
Reach La Voz reporter Silvia Solis at silvia.solis@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What are top issues for Latino voters? Poll results show a growing trend
