Focus at Four: Expert weighs in on the perception of immigration
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – A court order has allowed Texas’ floating barrier to stay in place on a section of the Rio Grande. The buoy system is part of Operation Lone Star, which started in 2021.
Kirby Goidel, a Political Science professor at Texas A&M joined First News at Four Friday to discuss public perception of immigration.
“The big thing with immigration overall is you have to think about we live in a polarized world, and if you’re a Democrat, you view the issues very different than if you’re a Republican,” Goidel said. “But what we see is Republicans are strongly in favor of the buoys. Democrats strongly opposed.”
Goidel said the opinion of immigration changes the further away someone is from the border. He’s also seen the opinions change about legal immigration.
“There continues though to be this difference across the party and so Republicans are opposed. They want to see less immigration. They want to see less resources going,” Goidel said. “Democrats want to see more immigration and they want to see more support for immigration policies.”
