Oklahoma Republicans Want Troops On The Southern Border, Democrats Don't

Oklahomans largely support the idea of deploying our state’s National Guard troops to enforce immigration laws at the US southern border. However, SoonerPoll data shows deep division along political and racial lines.

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SoonerPoll surveyed 299 likely voters -- Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Independents -- across the state. The survey is stratified to represent Oklahoma's likely voter population.

[QUESTION] Here are several statements about current Oklahoman issues. For each one, please tell me whether you support or oppose the statement:

"Governor Kevin Stitt and other governors across the country deploying their National Guard troops to the southern border of the U.S. to stop the influx of illegal immigrants."

1. Strongly Support:  38.1%
2. Somewhat Support:  17.9
3. Don’t Know/Undecided: 5.0
4. Somewhat Oppose:  9.7
5. Strongly Oppose:  29.3

The combined support for the Oklahoma National Guard’s deployment to address America's crisis on the southern border is a robust 56.0%. Just over twenty-nine percent of voters strongly oppose the idea while 9.7% somewhat oppose it for a combined opposition of 39.0%.

The divide over illegal immigration policy falls partly along political lines. Among Republicans, a combined 83.8% support the deployment of troops while a combined 77.4% of Democrats stand in opposition. Independent voters lean toward the GOP on this issue. Just over sixty percent of Independents believe we should deploy troops to the border and 33.2% oppose the idea.

Oklahomans are also divided along racial/ethnic lines. The strongest base for deploying troops to enforce federal immigration law comes from Native Americans who support the policy at a combined rate of 86.5%. White voters express support at 56.4%, Hispanic voters at 14.0%, and Black voters at 9.6%.

The most significant opposition to National Guard immigration enforcement comes from Oklahoma’s Black voters. Fifty-seven percent strongly oppose the idea and 18.6% somewhat oppose it for a combined opposition of75.6%. No Hispanic voters voiced strong opposition but 67.8% say they are somewhat opposed. Only 10.5% of Native Americans are opposed and 39.3% of White voters are opposed.

Illegal immigration has been a top concern of Oklahoma voters going back to 2006 when SoonerPoll first gathered data on the issue. It has remained a consistently important policy issue for Oklahomans in our surveys since that time.

About the Poll

SoonerPoll.com, Oklahoma’s public opinion pollster, asked these questions of Oklahoma likely voters as part of the SoonerPoll Quarterly Poll.

The scientific study was conducted from July 21-August13, 2021 with 300 likely Oklahoma voters selected at random statewide from a tri-frame of both landline telephone and cell phones, plus SoonerPoll's proprietary online panel. The sample was weighted by age, gender, and congressional district in order to reflect the Oklahoma likely voter population for a general election. The weighting was conducted using a 'layered technique.'

The sample reflects the traditional demographical profile of the Oklahoma likely voter with roughly half of respondents identifying as conservative and attending religious services once or more per week. The study has a Margin of Error (MoE) of ±5.67 percent.

A complete description of the methodology can be found here.

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