The wave of illegal immigration crashing over Texas’ border with Mexico makes it the #1 concern of Texans according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.
Given a list of possible threats to the country, 22 percent chose illegal immigration, followed by 18 percent who chose foreign terrorist groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda. Other issues trailed behind, including political polarization, decaying infrastructure, gun violence and unfriendly foreign nations.
“Even before the terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, Texans expressed deep concern over border security,” said Daron Shaw, co-director of the poll and a professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin. “I may be going out on a limb here, but I doubt Texas voters agree with Bernie Sanders’ statement [in Saturday’s Democratic debate] that climate change represents a more urgent threat than jihadist terrorism.”
Astute observation there since no sane person would agree with Comrade Sanders. The poll also showed how illegal immigration is a leading concern not just for Republicans but for independent voters.
Immigration and border security continue to top the list of most important problems facing the state, according to Texas voters. Those two items together accounted for 35 percent of the responses. Other issues each were listed first by fewer than 10 percent of voters: political corruption/leadership, education, the economy and health care.
The state list has a distinct partisan tang: 57 percent of Republicans listed border security and immigration as the top problems facing Texas; 32 percent of independents said the same, as did 13 percent of Democrats. For that last group, the top two problems listed were political corruption/leadership and education.
Nearly seven in 10 voters surveyed said the country is on the wrong track, while 22 percent said things are going in the right direction. They were generally more satisfied with the direction of the state: 45 percent said Texas is going in the right direction, while 36 percent said things in the state are on the wrong track.
