Only 26% said they approved of Biden's handling of immigration. Sixty-six percent of respondents support sending active duty U.S. soldiers to the border to support Border Patrol agents.
The Pentagon announced this month that Biden's administration will temporarily send 1,500 additional troops to help secure the border in preparation for the lifting of the COVID-19 border restrictions. The president is seeking re-election next year and immigration is primed to be an important issue in the contest. Republicans accuse him of being soft on immigration, though his administration has planned to send additional troops to assist in securing the border.
The frontrunner for the Republican nomination, former
President Donald Trump, made cracking down on illegal
immigration a centerpiece of his administration.
Biden is also facing criticism from Republicans over
government spending, which surged in recent years - including
during the Trump administration - as the government spent freely
fighting COVID-19.
Biden is due to meet with Republican House of
Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday to discuss an
impasse over the federal debt ceiling. Failing to lift the
borrowing limit could lead Washington to start falling behind on
its bills as soon as June 1, the Treasury Department has warned.
Fifty-four percent of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll
said they were opposed to raising the debt ceiling, including
59% of respondents who don't have a college degree. Among those
with a degree, 44% were opposed to raising the borrowing limit.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses from 1,022 U.S.
adults, using a nationally representative sample.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair
Bell)
