Fox News Voter Analysis: Majorities in key states fault Biden's handling of border security
There were at least 205,000 migrant apprehensions in October
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Voters in states with key midterm races are faulting President Biden for his handling of securing the southern border -- amid a historic surge in migration and despite claims by the administration that the border is "secure."
The Fox News Voter Analysis survey found that majorities of voters in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin all disapproved of President Biden’s handling of border security.
In Ohio (62%) and Wisconsin (63%), both with tight Senate races in play, more than 6 in 10 voters said they disapproved of Biden’s handling of border security.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Pennsylvania, where the Senate race between John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz could decide which party controls the Senate, 61% of voters disapproved of Biden’s handling of the border, while just 39% approved.
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Oct 19, 2022: Migrants encountered at the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Fox News)
In Georgia, where Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., is locked in a tight re-election race against Republican challenger Herschel Walker, 60% disapproved and 40% approved.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meanwhile in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis defeated challenger Charlie Crist, 61% disapproved of Biden’s handling of border security. DeSantis has been a fierce critic of the Biden administration’s handling of the migrant crisis, even going so far as to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.
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The Biden administration has been facing a massive surge in migration to the border since taking office in early 2021. There were more than 1.7 million migrant encounters in Fiscal Year 2021 and over 2.3 million in FY 2022 -- along with nearly 600,000 "gotaways."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That crisis has showed few signs of slowing down. Fox News reported this week that Border Patrol agents encountered over 205,000 migrants in October alone, believed to be the highest October ever.
AT LEAST 64K ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS EVADED BORDER PATROL IN OCTOBER, 205K APPREHENSIONS
Republicans have blamed the Biden administration’s rolling back of Trump-era border security policies and interior enforcement for the crisis -- arguing that the policies have encouraged migrants to try and enter the U.S. illegally.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Biden administration has instead blamed a combination of the Trump administration’s closing of legal asylum pathways and "root causes" in Central America -- including violence, poverty and climate change.
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Meanwhile, top officials have repeatedly claimed that the border is "secure."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The border is secure, but we also have a broken immigration system, in particular, over the last four years before we came in, and it needs to be fixed," Vice President Kamala Harris said in September.