Democrats 'driving polarization' on immigration amid party's 'shift leftward,' political scientists find

Washington Post columnist Jason Willick wrote on Sunday that Democrats were the ones “driving polarization” on immigration and said the Republican Party’s opinions have remained largely unchanged.

“Partisan opinions on immigration have indeed polarized, as these events suggest. But it’s Democratic opinion that has driven the partisan divorce,” Willick wrote, citing a paper by Trent Ollerenshaw of Duke University and Ashley Jardina of the University of Virginia.

The political scientists wrote that Republican opinion on immigration has largely remained the same since the 1990s.

“The marked liberalization in immigration opinion among Democrats has left partisans more divided on immigration than at any point since national surveys began consistently measuring,” the paper noted.

Migrants attempting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico are detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the border August 20, 2022 in San Luis, Arizona. Nick Ut/Getty Images

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“In 2004, just 14 percent of Republicans and Democrats said immigrants were ‘not at all likely’ to take Americans’ jobs. In 2020, the figure among Republicans was roughly the same — 16 percent — while for Democrats it soared to 53 percent,” Willick wrote.

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Similarly, the average American’s feelings towards immigrants in the country here illegally “have grown warmer,” the columnist added, but only among Democrats.

Democrats have also seen an increase in support for higher immigration levels. In 2022, 41% of Democrats “supported higher immigration levels,” compared to just 10% of Republicans, Willick wrote.

“The overall story of public opinion on immigration is more or less the opposite of what conventional asymmetric polarization theory would suggest: Instead of Democratic stability and a Republican shift rightward, the data show Republican stability and a Democratic shift leftward,” Willick added.

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The U.S. southern border saw its highest rate of illegal migrant encounters in December, sources with Customs and Border Protection told Fox News Digital. Migrant encounters hit 300,000 incidents in the last month of 2023.

“Partisan sorting and ideological changes among America’s elite have thrust the Democratic Party leftward, and the Republican Party has embraced more extreme tactics in response. That diagnosis doesn’t imply any particular solutions, but it’s more accurate than the self-satisfied liberal story of singular Republican blame for America’s increasing ungovernability — a story that itself greased the skids for the polarization of the past decade,” Willick wrote.

Cities across the U.S. have been dealing with an influx of migrants as city and state leadership continue to demand federal help.

Migrants line up after being detained by U.S. immigration authorities at the U.S. border wall, seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. AP Photo/Christian Chavez

Democratic Denver Mayor Mike Johnston recently told Fox News Digital that he has called on the federal government to provide faster adjudication of those seeking asylum, as well as a coordinated entry system and work authorization for those who arrive in cities like his.

“Certainly the current path is not sustainable for us as a city,” Johnston said. “This would be a $180 million impact on our budget in 2024 [10%] without some change in that flow.”

Fox News’ David Rutz contributed to this report.

Original article source: Democrats ‘driving polarization’ on immigration amid party’s ‘shift leftward,’ political scientists find