DALLAS — Thirty-six percent of Texas registered voters say it is reasonable to spend $20 million per mile in state funds to extend the border wall with Mexico, while 27% say it is wasteful, according to a new poll.
Another 25% of respondents to the poll of 1,082 registered voters said money “could be spent better on technology” at the border.
Overall, the new poll by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler shows support for Abbott’s policies are nuanced. Support deepened slightly for Gov. Greg Abbott’s overall immigration policies at the border, but weakened slightly on whether a wall is “necessary for a safe border” to 48%, compared to 50% in November.
Among Latino registered voters, 47% disagreed or strongly disagreed that a wall is needed at the border.
The poll was conducted Jan. 18-25 in English and Spanish. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results come as the Republican governor faces primary opponents in March who argue that he has not been tough enough in stemming the flow of migrants across the border.
Abbott has poured hundreds of millions in state money to beef up border security, including by sending DPS troops and the national guard to the Rio Grande. His policies are also seen as an effort to bolster his conservative credentials in a state polarized over whether toughness, compassion or financial practicality is needed on immigration.
Some 52% of polled registered voters approve of Abbott’s border policies – up from 49% in November and 47% in the September Dallas Morning News poll. Among Latinos, 45% gave Abbott an approval rating on his handling of immigration issues, but only 37% gave Biden a thumbs up on immigration. Latinos make up about a quarter of registered voters and are increasingly courted by Republicans.
Larger percentages of registered voters believed strengthening the electricity grid or reducing the coronavirus infections was more important than an effort to “secure the Texas-Mexico border.” But among Republicans polled, securing the Texas-Mexico border ranked higher than reducing coronavirus infections or strengthening the electricity grid.
“While it’s a rewarding strategy for Gov. Abbott, right now and with Republicans, there’s a limitation,” said Mark Owens, the UT-Tyler pollster. “It’s not going to get him a higher percentage of the electorate when people think about the most important issue.”
Overall approval of Abbott’s border policies remains solid over the last three Dallas Morning News polls. “It is an improvement,” Owens said, but “within the margin of error.”
When registered voters are asked to analyze the costs of the border wall, approval weakens on the wall, noted Mark P. Jones, a political scientist at Rice University in Houston.
“When people are presented with the actual costs, and instead of supporting or opposing have to make a decision have to evaluate that expenditure,” said Jones, “the level of support is lower.”
The Rice University professor noted that when “wasteful” and “could be spent better on technology” responses are combined, 52% of poll respondents appear to be looking for an option other than spending $20 million per mile on a border wall. “The majority do not think that spending is reasonable,” Jones said.
Latinos’ support on the border wall softens compared to that of white registered voters in other polling, too, noted Jones, who also works with the nonpartisan Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation. “The wall has consistently been the least popular among Latinos,” Jones said. “This poll reinforces that.”
“The more the wall’s publicized, the worse he’s going to get among Latino voters,” said Jones.
The poll also shows that 54% supported the use of state funds to deploy the National Guard and the DPS “to patrol the border.” But in November, 59% voiced support on the same question.
Abbott’s policies have included arresting migrants on the state charge of property trespassing under a controversial measure called Operation Lone Star. Support for Abbott stiffened even as political challengers such as Republican Allen West and Democrat Beto O’Rourke have blasted the mission. Adding to the alarm has been a string of suicides by soldiers, first reported by the Army Times.
Immigration at the border polarizes people, said Jeronimo Cortina, a political scientist at the University of Houston. Cortina noted stark differences between Democrats and Republicans on Abbott’s handling of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Only 27% of Democrats approved of Abbott on that issue, versus 80% among Republicans.
“Immigration has been, historically, used as a campaign issue since the 1800s, and allows you to rally your base depending on what side of the aisle you are,” said Cortina, who has studied historical floor debates on the issue.
“Just put the text without any reference to the date. You would think that that debate happened a week ago and in reality happened hundreds of years ago,” the University of Houston professor said.
Support for the wall softens the closer those polled are to the U.S.-Mexico border, Cortina said. Add the dollar amount per mile, as the poll did, and there’s further weakening, he said.
“The closer you are, regardless of partisanship, you are less likely to support the wall,” Cortina said. “And why? Because the individuals living at the border experience the reality of the border, and they understand how and how not the wall can be useful.”
The Texas poll also found that:
—One year after a devastating freeze hit Texas, resulting in the deaths of nearly 250 people, 50% of those polled said strengthening the electricity grid should be a higher priority than an effort “to secure the border.” The freeze overwhelmed the Texas electricity grid. About 41% said the Texas-Mexico border should be secured.
—And 52% said a “higher priority” should be given to reduce coronavirus infections, as opposed to 42% who chose “to secure” the Texas-Mexico border.
—Those immigrants who call themselves “Dreamers” strengthened support among registered voters polled: 51% said they supported or strongly supported granting permanent legal status to immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. In November’s poll, support was 48%, but in September support was 51%.
Under a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, beneficiaries often called Dreamers must have been brought to the U.S. by a parent or guardian before the age of 16 and come either unlawfully or overstayed lawful visas.
Methodology
The Dallas Morning News/UT-Tyler Poll is a statewide random sample of 1,082 registered voters conducted between Jan. 18-25. The mixed-mode sample includes 276 registered voters surveyed over the phone by the University of Texas at Tyler with support from ReconMR and 806 registered voters randomly selected from Dynata’s panel of online respondents. The margin of error for a sample of registered voters in Texas is +/- 3.0 percentage points, and the more conservative margin of sampling error that includes design effects from this poll is +/- 3.5 percentage points for a 95% confidence interval. The online and phone surveys were conducted in English and Spanish. Using information from the 2020 Current Population Survey and Office of the Texas Secretary of State. The sample’s gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, metropolitan density and vote choice were matched to the population of registered voters in Texas.
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