The Conservative Political Action Conference’s (CPAC) annual straw poll reveals that more than 8-in-10 attendees call illegal immigration to the United States a “greater problem” for the nation than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The poll found that 81 percent of CPAC attendees consider illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border to be a larger threat to the U.S. than the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Only 16 percent said the Russia-Ukraine conflict was a larger threat to the U.S.
Currently, President Joe Biden is asking officers with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to volunteer to leave their posts at the southern border to deploy to Poland to assist with evacuating Americans, green card-holders, and family members of American citizens from Ukraine.
Likewise, CPAC attendees consider immigration to be the second most important issue facing the nation, with 48 percent, running only behind election integrity at 49 percent.
The result comes as CPAC hosted a single panel titled “The Invasion” on February 24 that centered on border-related issues while issues around the nation’s overall legal immigration levels, visa programs, and Biden’s historic resettlement of Afghans across American communities were excluded.
Last week, an Associated Press-NORC poll found that nearly two-in-three Republican voters are “extremely or very concerned” about illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and consider it a direct threat to their interests.
Meanwhile, just 22 percent of Republicans said they want the U.S. to play a “major role” in the Russia-Ukraine conflict while 76 percent said the U.S. ought to play a “minor role” or “no role” at all.
The poll, conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, included more than 2,500 CPAC attendees from February 24 to February 27.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.