A new poll conducted by TIPP Insights for the Daily Mail found that most Americans supported the floating barriers along the Rio Grande put in place by Texas.
Overall, 51% of voters support the controversial 1,000-foot barrier, which features sharp saws linking each buoy. Only 35% disagreed, with 15% responding that they were unsure.
The results are even more stark when broken down specifically. A plurality, 28%, strongly support the buoys. That is followed by 23% who support them somewhat, 20% who strongly oppose them, and 15% who somewhat do.
A subsequent article by the Daily Mail revealed that older people, as well as those in the Northeast and the Midwest, were more supportive of the floating barriers.
The TIPP/Daily Mail survey of 1,369 United States adults was taken from Aug. 2-4. It has a plus or minus 2.7 percentage-point margin of sampling error.
Its results come in the backdrop of accusations from Democrats and the mainstream media that the barriers are illegal and intended to hurt or even kill migrants.
Abbott has defended the buoys numerous times, saying they are part of the state's Operation Lone Star policy.
"Neither of us wants to see another death in the Rio Grande River," Gov. Greg Abbott wrote in a letter responding to the Department of Justice last month, prior to the DOJ's filing suit seeking the bouys' removal.
"Yet, your open-border policies encourage migrants to risk their lives by crossing illegally through the water instead of safely and legally at a port of entry," the Texas governor continued. "Nobody drowns on a bridge."
Renewed attention has also been given to the barriers after a dead body reportedly was discovered between one of the buoys last week. The Mexican government has since condemned the structure.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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