Half (51%) of voters say that there should be a waiting period of at least two years before a person who enters the U.S. legally should be allowed to apply for citizenship and vote in U.S. elections. A third (33%) say that the waiting period should be a year or less (14%) or that there should be no waiting period at all (19%).

Overall, the majority of Americans still feel that legal immigration is good for the country, but illegal immigration is bad. There is some conflict between who voters think should be given preference to immigrate. The vast majority of voters (89%) believe it's important to secure the southern border and end illegal immigration. This has remained the viewpoint of the large majority of voters for years.

With election day quickly approaching, immigration continues to be a top issue for voters, second only to the economy. As an issue largely associated with former President Trump, strong messaging on how they'll handle the crisis at the southern border could play in either candidates favor.

This Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on October 9-10, 2024. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.