Calif. Democrats split, polls says, on immigration

Immigration and border security issues unify Republican voters while dividing Democratic voters in California, a statewide poll has found.

The findings of the new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, illustrate some of the political difficulties President Joe Biden faces in dealing with the large number of unauthorized migrants crossing the U.S. southern border.

Even in California, a Democratic stronghold, registered voters by 62 percent to 30 percent say U.S. borders are not secure in preventing people from entering the country illegally, the poll found. The majority who say the border is not secure is even larger among likely voters.

Voters who support former President Donald Trump, are conservative or identify as Republicans are nearly unanimous in saying the border is not secure. Among strongly conservative voters, 88 percent say the border is not secure, versus 8 percent who say it is.

Democrats, liberals and voters who support Biden are more evenly divided. Among California voters who identify as strongly liberal, 54 percent say the border is secure; 30 percent say it is not.

Democrats also split on the question of whether unauthorized immigrants create a burden for the country. Overall, 42 percent of registered voters say migrants are a “major burden,” 30 percent say they are a “minor burden,” and 22 percent say they are not a burden, the poll found.

“The findings show that immigration is not clear-cut even in California, whose reputation as a sanctuary state often colors discussion on the issue,” said G. Cristina Mora, co-director of the Institute of Governmental Studies.

The results have an estimated margin of error of 1.5 percentage points in either direction for the full sample.