More Texans support GOP Gov. Greg Abbott's border policies than those of President Joe Biden, a new survey found.
Nearly half (49%) of respondents said it approved of how Abbott was handling immigration at the southern border, The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler poll found.
Support for Abbott was up from 47% in September.
Only 33% approved of how Biden has handled immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. A total of 54% disapproved and 13% did not have an opinion.
A total of 38% said it disapproved of Abbott's handling of immigration, and 13% said it had no opinion.
It was little surprise the results varied based on political party – 77% of Republicans supported Abbott's border approach, while only 38% of independents and 28% Democrats approved.
Among Abbott's actions have been leading the charge to secure state funds for border security and authorizing the Texas National Guard to arrest people who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border and violate state law.
The slight increase in support for Abbott's policies came after thousands of asylum-seeking Haitians traveled to the U.S. in September. The migrants camped out under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas.
Half of the survey respondents said it agreed a wall along the southern border was necessary, while 36% said it disagreed.
Border Patrol released into the U.S. more than 283,000 migrants who crossed the southern border during the past year, The Washington Examiner reported earlier this month.
The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler found 59% of registered voters said it supported using state funds to deploy the National Guard and the Department of Public Safety to patrol the border. A total of 28% was against it, and 13% did not know.
Abbott recently told Newsmax that more than $3 billion of the state taxpayers' money has been appropriated so the state can meet obligations that the federal government and the Biden administration will not.
"Listen, we have to do it," the governor told Eric Bolling, the host of Newsmax's "Eric Bolling: The Balance." "We have to secure our border while the federal government twiddles its thumbs."
The survey found 48% of respondents supported granting permanent legal status to immigrants who traveled to the U.S. illegally when they were children, while 30% said it was opposed to such a policy.
The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler survey results were announced a week after former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, announced he would run to unseat Abbott next year.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.