Women Are Becoming More Concerned About Migrants

A new Gallup poll shows women increasingly viewing immigration as a major issue, as part of broader migrant-related concerns in the U.S. that have never been more consistent in two decades.

Pollsters asked American adults the open-ended question about their biggest concerns, and immigration topped the list at 27 percent for the third consecutive month—the first time in 24 years the issue has been named most important for such a duration.

Since 2000 immigration has been viewed by Gallup respondents as the "most important problem" four times, including in 2014, 2018 and 2019. But this is the first year that the issue has remained top of the mind among prospective voters for multiple months in a row.

The importance of the issue among the male and female demographics has essentially flipped in the past three months or so. Now, women view illegal immigration as more important than men see it, by a 31-24 percent margin. The numbers previously placed men as more concerned, in February (31-26 percent) and March (30-26 percent).

Gallup Senior Editor Jeff Jones told Newsweek via phone on Wednesday that caution should be heeded regarding the issue's importance based on gender.

However, he "feels pretty confident" about the concerns and acknowledged that both men and women have expressed a bigger interest in immigration-related issues now compared to January.

"[Immigration attention in general has] been kind of a surprise because some of the issues—immigration, guns when that's been kind of elevated in the past, usually precipitated by some kind of event," Jones said. "Immigration back in 2019, when it spiked, was because we were having border crossings from Central America. That kind of caused a spike back then but quickly went back down.

"It's possibly [garnering a lot of attention now] because we're seeing sustained border crossings, plus it's an election year."

Immigration concerns among all respondents have increased from 20 percent in January and hit as high as 28 percent in February and March. In comparison, the survey published April 30 shows the government (18 percent), economy (17 percent) and inflation (13 percent) rounding out the list.

The poll asked 1,001 American adults between April 1-22, with a +/- 4 percent margin of error. Newsweek reached out to Gallup via phone and email for comment.

After immigration tied with the government as Gallup respondents' top issue in December 2023, in sync with record numbers of migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border, the issue of immigration became even more palpable in February following failure in Congress to reach some kind of bipartisan consensus on policy reforms.

A $118 billion bill that combined southern border security with aid to countries like Ukraine and Israel never made it out of the Senate, though it was expected to die in the House where Speaker Mike Johnson at the time declared the legislation "dead on arrival."

Federal inaction led to President Joe Biden weighing the use of executive authority to curb illegal border crossings, though nothing ever came to fruition.

Republicans view immigration as a more serious issue than Democrats and independents, though 48 percent of Republicans called it their top issue in April—down from a record-high of 57 percent in February.

While Democrats have expressed more worry about immigration during Donald Trump's presidency compared to the present, 25 percent of independent voters reported record-high concerns that mirror similar sentiments back in 2019.

Jones said it remains to be seen whether immigration will continue playing a major role, depending on factors such as politics and media attention.

If inflation increases again, impacting Americans' finances, it could shift the order of importance among different issues, Jones said, adding that Congress attempting to enact more border-related legislation or punting until after the election could also carry significance.

"It's an election year and other things could come up," Jones said. "If crossings continue, the issue will be front and center. ... It kind of depends on how things play out. With the conditions in place now and if they remain in place, I would expect to see it elevated."

There were more than 2.4 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Update 05/01/24, 4:15 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Jeff Jones.