Exclusive Poll: Iowa and Immigration

Republicans Feelings on Legal Immigration

The Iowa Caucus, the first in the nation presidential contest, is just a few months away, and the issue of immigration has become one of the most significant issues for Republican voters.

For a long time, there was this binary understanding that legal immigration is always good and illegal immigration is bad. Trump’s candidacy in 2016 changed all that when he openly campaigned on not just building a wall on the border with Mexico but reducing the levels of legal immigration. While the numbers more or less stayed the same for his presidency, except in 2020, when COVID shut down parts of the federal government, including USCIS.

Still, I was curious about how Republican voters feel regarding the current levels of legal immigration and if what Trump tapped into eight years ago still stands in 2023. It’s important to remember that Iowa Republicans have a long history of supporting large immigration numbers, especially given how much immigrant labor works in agriculture.

J.L. Partners, a reputable polling firm, asked likely Republican caucus-goers about their feelings regarding the level of legal immigration.

When asked, “America currently allows one million legal immigrants per year. How many legal immigrants do you think the country should allow?”