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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Do the majority of Americans support construction of a US-Mexico border wall?

Friday, November 27, 2020

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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An October 2020 survey reported that 57% of Americans oppose building a wall along the country's southern border, consistent with most other polling in recent years.

The question was rarely asked by pollsters in 2020, as concern over the coronavirus, the economy and other issues took precedence. The October survey, by the Public Religion Research Institute, reported that 33% of Americans found immigration to be a "critical" issue, ranking 13th on its list. Support for the wall remains strong among Republicans, however. "Nearly all Republicans who trust Fox News most among television news sources (96%) favor this policy," the survey found.

Surveys in 2019 found similar levels of overall support and partisan split. According to Gallup, 60% of Americans opposed major new construction along the U.S.-Mexico border. A 2019 Pew Research poll found 58% opposed.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Public Religion Research Institute: Dueling realities—Trump and Biden supporters see different priorities and futures

Gallup: Solid majority still opposes new construction on border wall

Pew Research: How Americans see illegal immigration, the border wall and political compromise

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.