A poll released Monday suggests 57 percent of Texan voters disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of the border crisis after Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to the state on Friday to inspect the border 800 miles away from the crisis region.
The University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll also showed that among “Republican voters, 89% disapprove of Biden’s handling of border issues. While 56% of Democrats said they approve of his policies, 18% disapproved.”
The poll comes as Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) criticized Harris on Thursday for visiting the the border 800 miles from the crisis region of illegal immigrant crossings.
Cuellar told Fox News he is sure Harris’ “planners” told her it was “politically safer” to go down to El Paso rather than where the crisis is raging in the southern part of the state.
“I’m sure her planners told her that if you’re going to go down to the border, go to something that’s safer to go to, that is, politically safer,” Cuellar said. “The epicenter is down there in the Lower Rio Grande, the lower part of my district down there. If you look at the numbers that are down there compared to El Paso, you’re not going to get a true picture of what’s happening.”
Since May, the border has witnessed a nearly 700 percent spike in illegal immigrant crossings.
To combat the surge, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) have requested states send help to protect the border, a responsibility of the federal government via the United States Constitution.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) answered Ducey and Abbott’s call and has permitted Floridian taxpayer-funded law enforcement to assist Texas and Arizona’s border control efforts. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) and Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) have also pledged assistance.
The survey polled 1,200 registered voters from June 10-21 and has a margin of error of 2.83 percent.