Gallup: Border Security Just As Important As Illegals

by JASmius

Uh-oh:

Americans believe finding a plan to deal with the nation's illegal immigrants is just as important as halting the flow of new undocumented residents, a new poll has found, marking a significant shift from past trends when people were consistently more concerned with border security.

According to a Gallup Poll conducted February 6-9, 44% of adults say it is "extremely important" for the U.S. to come up with a plan for the large number of illegal immigrants already living in the U.S. 

In comparison, 43% of the 1,023 people surveyed say the priority is halting the flow of illegal immigrants into the country by tightening border security.

"The equal importance Americans place on the two main immigration challenges does not give government leaders much guidance as to which they should attempt to resolve first if they opt for a piecemeal approach to immigration reform," said the poll's author, Jeffrey Jones.

Wanna bet, Mr. Jones?  As the piece goes on to point out, this is a significant shift in the wrong direction from before the 2012 election, when polls consistently showed Americans opposing "comprehensive immigration reform" by as much as two to one.  Pro-amnesty-ites aren't going to look at those static numbers, they're going to look at that trend and its direction and conclude that the wind is at their backs.

Yes, yes, I know - it's a poll.  And, yes, yes, I know, outside of Scott Rasmussen, every pollster is in the tank for Barack Obama.  But as I have learned over the years, polling bias takes place at the margins.  If public sentiments have shifted from 2-1 against amnesty to 50-50, that is a significant shift that polling bias cannot account for.  It means the public is moving left on the immigration issue.  And that means House Republicans are going to be subjected to enormous pressure to pass the "Gang of Eight" amnesty bill the Senate shoved through last year, lack of trust in Barack Obama or no lack of trust in Barack Obama.  Anybody confident that the same Speaker John Boehner that was willing to push through a "clean" debt ceiling hike by making common cause with the Democrats will hold the line against the measure that will cost the GOP Texas and Arizona as the last one (in 1986) cost them California and finish them as a viable national political entity (for a host of reasons)?