A plurality of Democrats (48 percent) said the United States is facing a “problem” with illegal immigration, compared with 74 percent of Republicans who dubbed the issue a “crisis.” Overall, half of voters said the United States is facing a “crisis,” while a third called it a “problem.”

The divide between the two parties on what to call the issue at the U.S.-Mexico border recalls Morning Consult/Politico polling conducted in April 2019, when the Trump administration was facing its own border challenges. At the time, 44 percent of voters – including 19 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Republicans – said the United States was facing a crisis. The 2019 survey was conducted around the time that the Customs and Border Protection data showed the United States was experiencing a surge of migration — similar to the size of the one currently facing the country — and one that would go on to grow larger into the summer.

Amid the increase in migration, voters are now also increasingly prioritizing congressional action on immigration: 39 percent in the latest poll said passage of an immigration reform bill should be “a top priority,” up 9 points since a survey conducted at the beginning of March.