POLL: Most Americans Believe There’s An ‘Invasion’ Happening At The Southern Border

A majority of Americans, including a plurality of Democrats, believe there is an invasion occurring at the southern border, a Thursday poll from Ipsos and NPR found.

Overall, 54% of Americans believed it is true or “somewhat true” that the U.S. is experiencing an invasion at the southern border, while half of Americans believed that migrants carrying fentanyl across the border were responsible for rising drug deaths and 42% believe the U.S. has an open border policy, the poll found, interpreting “true” and “somewhat true” responses to denote agreement with the prompt. It also found a modest shift in attitudes since 2018 toward skepticism of immigration.

Republicans were more likely to agree with all three prompts, with 76% believing there’s an invasion at the southern border, 70% blaming border smuggling of fentanyl for the rise in drug deaths and 63% believing the U.S. has an open border, according to the poll. Pollsters blamed conservative media for these beliefs among Republicans, citing Fox News viewership as an indicator of whether someone ranks these statements as completely true.