Poll: Immigration is the nations top problem
Immigration ranks as the most important problem that Americans say the United States is facing, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday. The poll found…
Protesters stand in the road blocking a bus carrying 140 immigrants on the way to be processed at Border Patrol station in Murrieta, Calif., on July 1, 2014. As thousand of unaccompanied minors continue to cross the southern border to come to the U.S., a new Gallup poll found one in six Americans rank immigration as the top problem the country is facing. (AP Photo/The Press-Enterprise, Sarah Burge) (AP Photo/The Press-Enterprise, )
Immigration ranks as the most important problem that Americans say the United States is facing, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.
The poll found that 17 percent of Americans cite immigration as the countrys top problem, up from 5 percent in June. Thats the highest that immigration has ranked in the Gallup poll since 2006.
Coming in at a close second is dissatisfaction with government with 16 percent of Americans saying thats the nations top problem. The economy ranked third with 15 percent and unemployment and jobs ranked fourth with 14 percent.
Only 8 percent of Americans said health care was the top problem. Thats down from 16 percent in January, when the Obama administration was still having problems with the HealthCare.Gov website.
SEE ALSO: Women helping child migrants as they make their way to the US
Having immigration rank as the top problem the U.S. is facing could arguably be due to the influx of unaccompanied minors the vast majority of them from Central America who are crossing the Southwest border, especially through the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. A total of 57,525 unaccompanied minors were apprehended at the border from October 1 to June 30, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Both sides of the aisle are trying to find solutions to stem the flow of unaccompanied minors coming into the U.S.
President Barack Obama is asking Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency funding to deal with what he calls a humanitarian crisis. The funds would be used to care for unaccompanied minors, hire more immigration judges and attorneys and pay for the operation costs of Border Patrol.
Many Republicans are rejecting Obamas plan and are proposing their own solution to address the crisis. For example, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) introduced legislation Tuesday that would amend a 2008 law to make it easier for the U.S. to deport children from Central America who dont qualify for immigration relief.
The results of the Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted July 7-10, 2014, with a random sample of 1,013 adults.
SEE ALSO: La Bestia: A song created by CBP is a radio hit in Central America
