Poll: Majority Say Biden Has ‘Poor’ Handling of Immigration, Crime

Most Americans say President Biden is doing a “poor” job handling both immigration and crime, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Tuesday found.

The survey asked respondents, “How do you rate the way President Biden is handling crime and law enforcement issues?” The question comes over a year after mass calls to defund the police, with crime on the rise in Democrat-run areas.

Overall, 51 believe percent Biden is doing a “poor job” on this issue, followed by 17 percent who say “good,” 14 percent who say “excellent,” and 14 percent who say “fair.” A majority of Republicans (77 percent) and independents (56 percent) agree that Biden is doing a “poor” job in this area, while 57 percent of Democrats say he is doing either “good” or “excellent.”

The survey also asked how Biden is handling issues related to immigration. A majority, 54 percent, rate him “poor,” while 27 percent say he is doing either “good” or “excellent.” Once again, most Republicans (78 percent) and independents (60 percent), agree that he is doing a “poor” job. However, 50 percent of Democrats rate his handling of immigration as either “good” or “excellent,” compared to 46 percent who say “fair” or “poor”:

On both crime and immigration, even Democratic voters now rate Biden less favorably than they did before. On crime and law enforcement issues, for example, 57% of Democrats rate Biden excellent or good, down from 62% in July, while on immigration, the share of Democrats rating the president handling as excellent or good declined to 50% from 52% in September.

Majorities of both Republicans (78%) and voters not affiliated with either major party (60%) give Biden a poor rating for his handling of issues related to immigration. Similarly, 77% of Republicans and 56% of unaffiliated voters rate Biden poor for his handling of crime and law enforcement issues.

The survey, taken December 19-20, 2021, among 1,000 likely U.S. voters, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent. 

The survey follows a Civiqs poll released Sunday, revealing that just 36 percent of registered voters approve of Biden’s overall job performance nearly a year into his presidency. Most voters, 55 percent, disapprove of his job performance. 

That is also reflected in Tuesday’s RealClearPolitics average, which shows Biden’s approval rating underwater by 10.1 percent.