Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
When it comes to the border wall, New Mexico voters find themselves on both sides – of the issue, that is.
Slightly more than half of likely voters in New Mexico would prefer to stop building a wall on the Mexican border, and they say the U.S. should deport only undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes in the United States, according to a new Journal Poll.
Still, 38% support the wall and more deportations of people living in the country illegally, and 10% don’t know or said it depends.
“New Mexicans are divided on this issue,” said Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling Inc., the firm that conducted the survey. “Slightly more than half of likely voters support stopping the wall. But there are a substantial share of likely voters who do prefer stronger immigration policies.”
Political ideology is the biggest indicator for how people view immigration policies.
About three out of four New Mexico Republicans prefer the border wall and stricter deportation policies. Conversely, 81% of Democrats want to stop building the wall and relax deportations.
Among likely voters who support Democrat Joe Biden for president, 83% say stop building and 9% say continue. Among likely Donald Trump voters, 81% say keep building and 9% say stop.
Trump made immigration a cornerstone of his initial run for president. New Mexico has added 31 miles of new border wall since January 2017, according to Customs and Border Protection. That’s part of the administration’s plans for 753 miles of new and replaced wall on the border.
Voters of different ethnicity have different views on the issues.
Two-thirds of Hispanic voters in the state who were surveyed favor deporting only immigrants who have committed serious crimes and want the U.S. to stop building the wall. One in four Hispanic voters prefers stricter immigration policies.
Anglo voters are nearly equally divided.
Among Anglo voters surveyed, 45% were in favor of the wall and 44% were against it.
Proximity to the border had little or no effect on voter opinion.
In north-central New Mexico, which includes Santa Fe and Española, 62% of those surveyed prefer more relaxed deportation policies and to stop wall construction.
In the Albuquerque area, 59% want to stop the construction while one-third of likely voters want to keep building the wall.
New Mexico’s east side has the most support for the wall, with 61%.
Among likely voters in Las Cruces and southwestern New Mexico, including Luna and Hidalgo counties, 51% want to stop border wall construction and 37% want to continue building. That’s nearly the same spread as statewide opinion, which is 52% to 38%.
“That’s where you have more of the border,” Sanderoff said. “And they mirror the state’s numbers.”
Education level provides some indication of how likely voters view the topic. Among those surveyed who had a high school diploma or less, 46% were in favor of the wall and 43% against it. A little more than half of the respondents who had a college degree wanted to stop wall construction and 36% were in favor of it.
Two-thirds of likely voters with a graduate degree are against the wall.
For the most part, New Mexico voters have made up their mind on this issue. Only 4% of likely voters had mixed feelings, and 4% were undecided. There were 2% of respondents who didn’t say.
“Few people are on the fence,” Sanderoff said.
Methodology
The Journal Poll is based on a scientific, statewide sample of likely general election voters. The 457 people surveyed had voted in either the 2016 and 2018 general election, or both.
The people surveyed were asked that when considering immigrant policies, which would you prefer: “Continue building the border wall with Mexico and deport more people who enter and live in the country illegally,” or “stop building the border wall and allow deportation only for people who have committed serious crimes in the United States.”
The poll was conducted Aug. 26 through Sept. 2. The sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points. The margin of error increases for subsamples.
Professional interviewers conducted the surveys. The interviewers called back households that did not initially answer the phone.
Both cellphone numbers (74%) and landlines (26%) of general election voters were used.
