With immigration and border security getting attention heading into November’s elections, a large majority of the public reports hearing false claims about immigrants from candidates or elected officials, and many immigrants say the rhetoric is negatively affecting how they are treated, a new KFF Health Misinformation Tracking Poll finds.
Fielded before the Sept. 10 debate between former President Trump and Vice President Harris, the poll tested the public’s awareness of, and belief in, several statements about immigrants, both false and true. A companion survey of immigrants examines their views and experiences during the campaign.
Most of the public say they have heard candidates or officials make the false claims that “immigrants are causing an increase in violent crime” (80%) and that “immigrants are taking jobs and causing an increase in unemployment for people born in the U.S.” (74%).
About one in five people wrongly say that each of those two false claims are “definitely true,” with similar shares saying they are “definitely false.” In each case, a majority falls somewhere in between, describing the claims as only “probably” true or false.
For many immigrants, campaign rhetoric can have tangible effects. Nearly four in ten (36%) immigrants – including almost half (45%) of Asian immigrants – say that the way former President Trump talks about immigrants has negatively affected the way they are treated. Few (7%) say the same about Vice President Harris’ rhetoric,...
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