Native voters oppose Trump's policies but aren't marching to the ballot box

Wednesday, July 25, 2018  

Native voters are joining an overwhelming majority of Americans in opposing the Trump administration's immigration policies but they aren't as motivated to participate in the upcoming election, according to a new poll.

Native Americans are in fact the least likely to say they will vote in November, the results showed. Among all racial and ethnic groups, they had the lowest intent to vote rate in the poll, conducted earlier this month.

On the other hand, White Americans, the ones who helped send Donald Trump to the White House almost two years ago, expressed the most enthusiasm for the upcoming election, which is being cast as a referendum on the unpopular president.

The results of the poll indicate why Trump is so disliked. Racial and ethnic differences largely disappeared when respondents were asked about his "zero tolerance policy" which resulted in the separation of more than 2,000 migrant children from their families.

An overwhelming majority (74 percent) of likely voters, including Native Americans (68 percent) and White Americans (71 percent), blamed the Trump administration -- as well as Republicans in Congress -- for the practice. Though the policy has since been rescinded, almost all said they objected to it and most said they were "angry" about it.

“Native Americans are watching Trump administration immigration policies, and most don’t like what they see,” said Laura Evans, a professor at the University of Washington, Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, whose work focuses on tribal governance.

Similar levels of disapproval were seen when Americans were asked about Trump's plan for a costly wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, an idea opposed by tribes whose homelands would be impacted by the controversial undertaking. Some 65 percent of Native voters said they thought it was a "bad idea," according to the results, on par with respondents from other racial and ethnic groups.

And like most Americans, Native voters (74 percent) overwhelmingly support the so-called DREAM Act, which would grant a path to citizenship for immigrants who were brought to America when they were children. An equally significant super-majority (71 percent) also want to see Congress pass an immigration reform bill that also includes a path to citizenship.

An overwhelming percentage of African American, Asian American and Latino voters also blame Trump and Republicans for "increasing hate and racism against" against their respective groups. The rates among Native and White respondents weren't as high but the results showed large waves of disapproval.

"A clear majority believe Trump is harming Native Americans while also increasing hate and racism against Latinos, Blacks, and Muslims,” said Evans.

The "Latino Decisions" poll was conducted July 5-14 among 2,045 registered voters. At least 400 Native Americans participated, along with 400 each from the other racial and ethnic groups, according to the organizers.

The goal was to asses the views of likely voters in 61 "competitive" Congressional districts. But due to smaller sample sizes in some of the districts, the Native participants were drawn from from the 50 states.

According to the organizers, when the populations of the 61 districts are combined, 68 percent are White, 15 percent are African American, 12 percent are Latino, 4 percent are Asian and 1 percent are Native American.

The poll was conducted on behalf of America’s Voice, Mi Familia Vota, Indivisible, NAACP, The Immigration Hub the and AAPI Civic Engagement Fund.

“Voters of every race and ethnicity are upset and angry over the child separation and detention policy, by large margins," said Matt Barreto, the co-founder and managing partner of Latino Decisions. "Overwhelmingly, voters support themes of unity and inclusion. They are tired of hostility, attacks, and division.”