Republicans Risk Losing Their Strongest Issue: Immigration

Brand new battleground polling shows that immigration topics remain the clearest and strongest issue set for all candidates heading into November’s midterm elections. Despite persistent opposition from legacy media and business interests, voters continue to rally to the America First vision of sovereignty, restrained immigration, and robust enforcement of our nation’s laws.

But predictably, the chattering Washington class of political dinosaurs insists that the GOP surrender on this one macro issue that is clearly working. Beltway GOP insiders seem intent on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Here is the harsh current reality: The GOP faces a very tough November, and my latest Arizona poll underscores that challenge. In a state President Trump won by more than five points, his job approval rating now stands at -16%, with 39% approval and 55% disapproval. This mirrors my last two Wisconsin polls, which show Trump at -15% in that battleground state.

Both swing-state polls show that the war with Iran is unpopular. Right now, only 31% of Arizona voters believe the war is a “net positive” for America, while 51% say they are more worried about higher prices, and only 20% believe those costs are necessary to keep America safe. But despite the unpopularity of the war, Trump’s overall approval has not budged compared to my prewar polling.

So the economy remains the foremost concern of voters, who continue to struggle and now largely blame the governing GOP. Of all available policy tools to improve the prosperity of the masses right now, the single most effective is immigration.

In order to grow real wages—meaning pay adjusted for the cost of living—immigration provides leverage on both fronts. First, removing millions of illegal workers—where President Trump has made significant progress—raises the pay of American citizens in the workforce, especially blue-collar strivers. Second, removing illegal immigrants from the country reduces the strain on resources like housing, providing needed relief to consumers struggling with high prices.

Voters in Arizona grasp the efficacy of immigration enforcement and overwhelmingly back deportations. Specifically, a supermajority of 66% say that state and local police should fully cooperate with federal authorities in the Trump deportation agenda. Even 45% of Kamala Harris voters agree on this point. Within the large Hispanic population of Arizona, a majority—52%—support this law enforcement effort on immigration. That number is particularly crucial, because Latino support for Trump has cratered since he took office, with only 28% of Arizona Hispanics expressing positive job approval for the president in this poll.

But in the face of common sense and sound electoral politics, establishment politicians like Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., insist on pushing a so-called “Dignity” agenda to allow millions of illegal immigrants to remain permanently in the U.S. Despite their claims to the contrary, such a policy retreat represents mass de facto amnesty—a surrender on the foundational issue of the patriotic populist movement.

In addition, such a retreat on immigration would amount to a massive political surrender that would dispirit the base and abandon the most popular and effective element of the current conservative agenda.

So, D.C. Republicans: stop catering to a small cadre of donor-class interests who clamor for a bygone era of porous borders and managed decline. These are not the early 2000s, and George W. Bush is not our leader. Americans demand sovereignty and recognize that immigration control provides a pathway to a safer, more prosperous, and more cohesive society.

Stick to principles—and stick to winning politics.

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