Not all politicians agree that the surge of illegal entrants across our border threatens American citizens' right to vote and self-govern without foreign interference. But those elected officials who don't believe it's an issue should note: Americans are very concerned, and want something done about it, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.
The March national online I&I/TIPP Poll of 1,419 adult registered voters, taken from Feb. 28 to March 1, asked Americans: "How concerned are you about letting those who are in the U.S. illegally to participate in local and federal elections?"
The response was a landslide, with 71% saying they were either "very concerned" (50%) or "somewhat concerned" (21%) about the problem, while just 23% said they were "not very concerned" (13%) or "not at all concerned" (10%).
Most striking about the responses was their breadth, with a significant majority in virtually every demographic category saying it is a matter of concern. Groups that ordinarily differ strongly with one another find common ground here.
That includes Democrats (60% concerned to 32% not), Republicans (89% to 7%), independents (66% to 28%), whites (75% to 21%), blacks (63% to 25%), Hispanics (60% to 29%), high school graduates (69% to 22%), those with a college degree (74% to 21%) and even those with post-college training or degrees (70% to 25%).
Indeed, only one group out of the 36 demographic categories regularly followed by I&I/TIPP was below 50%: self-described "liberals," though even there a plurality (49% to 43%) thought that illegals either voting or holding office was of concern. Self-described conservatives were highest (90% to 9%) while those calling themselves moderates were overall slightly above average (73% to 22%).
But I&I/TIPP asked an additional question: "What do you think should be done?" Those answering could choose either or both of the first two responses, so the numbers add up to more than 100%.
Respondents were given three possible responses: "Rigorously vet voter records to ensure non-citizens don't vote," "End programs like automatic voter registration and limit voting by mail to protect the integrity of U.S. citizens' right to vote," and "Not sure."
The first possible response garnered the greatest support, at 60%. The second response regarding voter registration and limiting mail-in voting won 43% support. Among the remainder, 12% weren't sure.
Breaking it down further, Democrats came in at 59% ("vet voter records) to 29% ("end automatic voter registration" and "limit voting by mail"), with 19%, or nearly one in five, answering "Not sure." On the same question, Republicans broke 62% to 54%, with 6% not sure, versus independents, at 58% to 44%, with 14% not sure.
One interesting split: Age. The younger the voter, the less likely they were to favor carefully looking at voter records: For those 18-24, just 47% supported that answer, while it was 51% for those 25-44, 63% for those 45-64, and 72% for those over 65.
The reverse was also true. Young people tended to favor the "end automatic registration" and "limit voting by mail" answers, with support from 55% of those 18-24, 51% of those 25-44, 39% of those 45 to 64, and just 35% of those over 65.
The lesson to be drawn from these data? Across the board, Americans think illegal immigrants voting in our elections is a potential problem, and a solid majority would support common-sense solutions to ensure it doesn't happen.
There are currently more than 10 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and likely millions more given the record surge across our borders over the last three years. Counting them all is nearly impossible.
Concerns over these illegal entrants becoming a reliable voting bloc for the the left, in particular the Democratic Party, have grown in recent years, particularly as the stakes of presidential elections seem to have grown along with tight election results.
As former Border Patrol Agent Mark A. Hewitt recently wrote, "the actual number that are in the country isn’t known, ten million seems to be a farcical number, but however many are in the United States they are just a single signature away from getting amnesty. Meaning today’s illegal alien is tomorrow’s Democrat voter."
Former President Donald Trump has warned for years about the threat of illegal immigrants voting in U.S. elections. He brought the topic up again in early January, saying "I think they really are doing it because they want to sign these people up to vote. I really do. They can’t speak a word of English for the most part, but they’re signing them up.”
Elon Musk, who has in the past identified himself as a progressive, last week posted a two-minute video from self-described "anti-communist" Western Lensman outlining with the alarming tagline, "This is actually happening!"
According to Musk's X account, the video piled up 68 million views in just five days. It's gone viral.
The video's assertions are straightforward, if alarming, about the surge in illegal immigration totaling, by some estimates based on government data, 10 million just since Biden took office:
1. Flood the country with untold millions of illegals by land, sea, and air from all over the world, enough to eclipse the populations of 36 individual U.S. states so far.
2. Prioritize the needs of these millions of non-citizens over the needs of American citizens with free flights, busses, hotels, meals and phones, ensuring their loyalty to the political party that imported them.
3. Keep them in the country at all costs, even when they commit violent crimes like murder or rape. Attack the language used to describe the criminals as opposed to the criminals themselves. Slander critics as racist.
4. Ensure their privileges are made irreversible with city and state sanctuary laws that act as population magnets. Codify permanent status and ensure non-cooperation with ICE.
5. Count the non-citizens in the census that will determine congressional apportionment in the House of Representatives. As of now, they would equal 13 extra Congressional districts, a tremendous amount of electoral power.
6. Launch a massive, heavily funded lawfare campaign to change state voting laws that legalize mass mail-in ballots. No signature verification or proof of citizenship requirements, making it almost impossible to prove voter fraud.
7. Lock in the permanent voting majority with campaign promises of lavish benefits and permanent privileges, enshrining generational fealty to the Democrat Party.
8. Win elections.
9. Entrenched single-party rule has been achieved.
Tennessee U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, in particular, has warned about the potential impact that illegal immigrants have on the fairness of the U.S. presidential vote. Even if they don't actually cast ballots illegally, the illegal inhabitants are still counted for apportionment of congressional seats and Electoral College votes.
That gives the estimated 20 "Sanctuary City" jurisdictions in major cities, mostly in Blue States, a decided advantage in political strength. Hagerty co-sponsored an amendment to the recent spending bill to keep the government from from counting illegal aliens for the Census. But it was rejected by a unanimous vote of Senate Democrats.
Whatever numbers one believes, and both sides in the debate have wildly different estimates for the amount of illegal immigration, the I&I/TIPP Poll shows the concerns over illegal immigrants voting in U.S. elections are not going away. And they appear to be a major part of the general electorate's anger over undocumented immigration.
I&I/TIPP publishes timely, unique, and informative data each month on topics of public interest. TIPP’s reputation for polling excellence comes from being the most accurate pollster for the past five presidential elections.
Terry Jones is an editor of Issues & Insights. His four decades of journalism experience include serving as national issues editor, economics editor, and editorial page editor for Investor’s Business Daily.
