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A new NPR/Ipsos poll shows that misleading and false claims about immigration are widespread, and their reach may be growing. Our poll finds that large numbers of Americans hold a range of misconceptions about immigrants, from how likely they are to use public benefits to their role in smuggling illegal drugs into the U.S. NPR's Joel Rose reports.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: Let's start with a quiz. True or false? Most of the opioid fentanyl that's entering the U.S. is smuggled in by unauthorized migrants crossing the border illegally. That's one of the questions we asked in this poll because fentanyl seizures are up, and it's become a big election-year talking point for Republicans.

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RON DESANTIS: You have people coming across illegally from countries all over the world. And so what has that gotten us? We now, in this country, have the leading cause of death for people 18 to 45 as fentanyl overdose.

ROSE: Notice how Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida jumps quickly from the record number of migrant arrests at the southern border to fentanyl overdose deaths. But experts say that's not an accurate picture.

VICTOR M MANJARREZ: My name is Victor M. Manjarrez Jr. I am the director for the Center for Law and Human Behavior at the University of Texas, El Paso.

ROSE: Victor Manjarrez served in the Border Patrol for more than 20 years, retiring as the sector chief in Tucson. Manjarrez says it's true that fentanyl is crossing the border - a...

Read Full Story: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1118271910