Media contact: Nick Fulton, nfulton@vera.org

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, as first reported in the Hill, Vera Action and the Immigration Hub released a new poll, conducted by PerryUndem, that surveyed voters across the country on immigration, the border, and crime. The new data suggest that, while there is a communication gap between Democrats and voters on immigration, President Biden and the party have an opportunity to counter Republicans on their attacks and inoculate misinformation on “migrant crime” with an affirmative message centered on safety, security, and stability for all.

“Once again, the evidence continues to demonstrate that the American public isn’t anti-immigrant, but rather supportive of a nation and leaders who ensure safety, security and stability for all families,” stated Immigration Hub Deputy Director Beatriz Lopez. “Up against the existential threat of Trump and his multimillion dollar misinformation machine, President Biden should stand confidently on his record on immigration and consistently reiterate to the American people that the Biden-Harris administration has delivered policies that keep families together and safe. With the first debate ahead of us, Trump will surely attempt to paint migrants as ‘criminals’ and employ other xenophobic tropes. The contrast needs to be made clear—Trump is only interested in riling up extremists and gaining political points for himself; President Biden has and will continue to put families first.”

Topline findings include:

Where Democrats are losing:

• Democrats are at a disadvantage on the border because of a communication gap, not a misalignment with voters on values or policy. Republicans are dominating and defining the narrative space.
• The attempt by Democrats to move to the right and appear “tough” on the border is a losing strategy and may drive swing voters into their opponents’ hands.

Where Democrats can win:

• Democrats can win on immigration issues by delivering a strong, affirmative message centered on “safety, security, and stability” for all. 
• Democrats can inoculate against disinformation about “migrant crime” with a humanizing message about the mothers, fathers, children, and grandparents who are fleeing danger, not causing it. 
• Democrats can go on offense by warning how some candidates are trying to misinform and manipulate voters with scare tactics and rile up extremists, which puts us all in danger. 

“Conventional wisdom about public opinion, based on one-dimensional polls, is always incomplete and sometimes flat-out wrong. It’s stunning how assumptions about the electorate can fall apart under scrutiny—we’ve found this on abortion, and this is just another example,” stated Tresa Undem, partner at PerryUndem.

“There seems to be an invariable feeling amongst Democrats that they have to parrot Republican messaging to win on immigration and crime. But this polling adds to the evidence that owning your own narrative—one focused on safety, security, and stability for all people—is a winning message with voters. If Democrats want to win on these issues, they have to take their eyes off their opponents and instead focus on the communities they intend to reach,” stated Insha Rahman, director of Vera Action. 

The findings draw two national surveys conducted between May 10, 2024, and May 22, 2024, via YouGov. The first survey polled 1,000 registered voters and the second polled 1,904 registered voters.

Find a complete statistical breakdown here. 

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Vera Action and Immigration Hub spokespeople are available for comment; reach out to nfulton@vera.org or claudia@theimmigrationhub.org for any questions or inquiries. For more polling and research from Vera Action, find our Messaging Research and Polling Library linked here.