Only 30% Say U.S.-Mexico Border Secure, 64% Say It’s Not

President Obama on Tuesday encouraged Congress to move forward on immigration reform, saying his administration has “strengthened border security beyond what many believed was possible.” But most voters don’t share the president’s view.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 30% of Likely U.S. Voters think the U.S. border with Mexico is even somewhat secure, while 64% disagree and say it is not secure. These results include only three percent (3%) who say the U.S.-Mexico border is Very Secure and 29% who believe it’s Not At All Secure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Fifty-one percent (51%) of Democrats say the border is secure. Eighty-six percent (86%) of Republicans and 65% of voters not affiliated with either of the major parties disagree.

Most voters say securing the border is a higher priority than addressing the status of illegal immigrants already in the United States. Twenty-nine percent (29%) agree with the president that the border is now secure enough to begin dealing with the issue of illegal immigrants already living here. But 50% say the border is not secure enough yet. Another 22% are not sure.

Most voters continue to feel that the policies of the federal government encourage illegal immigration.

While voters remain unhappy with the federal government’s efforts to stop or reduce illegal immigration, most voters continue to favor a welcoming policy of legal immigration.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on May 11-12, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.