Poll: 68% Disapprove of Obama on Illegal Immigration; Plurality Oppose Border Bill

Nearly 70% of Americans disapprove of President Barack Obama’s handling of illegal immigration, and a plurality oppose any emergency funding to address the border crisis, according to a new national poll.

The Associated Press-GfK poll found that 68% disapprove of Obama on illegal immigration while only 31% approve. When asked if they “favor, oppose or neither favor nor oppose emergency spending by the federal government to improve living conditions for children currently being detained for crossing the border illegally and to allow deportation hearings for those children to proceed more quickly,” 38% of respondents opposed while 32% favored authorizing emergency funds.

President Barack Obama initially asked for $3.7 billion in emergency funds, and Senate Democrats have proposed $2.7 billion in additional funding. The House’s border bill proposes $659 million.

The survey also found that nearly 90% of Americans felt that illegal immigration is a serious problem confronting the nation and a majority want illegal immigrants to be deported more quickly and not be given refugee status.

The poll was conducted July 24-28, and its margin of error is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.