A majority of voters say that undocumented immigrants primarily fill jobs that Americans don’t want

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Majorities of U.S. registered voters say immigrants – both undocumented and legal – mostly fill jobs American citizens don’t want, as opposed to jobs citizens would like to have.

Three-quarters of voters say undocumented immigrants fill jobs citizens don’t want, while a lower share (61%) say the same of legal immigrants, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in August 2024. The impact of immigration on the U.S. job market has come up regularly in the 2024 presidential election. Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican opponent Donald Trump have points of agreement and disagreement on this issue.

Notably, majorities of Harris and Trump supporters say that undocumented immigrants mostly fill jobs that Americans don’t want. Even so, substantial differences exist: 90% of Harris supporters hold this view, compared with 59% of Trump supporters.

Large shares in both coalitions also say legal immigrants mostly take jobs that U.S. citizens don’t want. Seven-in-ten Harris supporters say this, compared with around half of Trump supporters (52%).

Overall, views have changed little since May 2020, the last time we asked these questions. At that time, 77% of the U.S. adults said undocumented immigrants mostly fill jobs that U.S. citizens don’t want, while 64% said the same about legal immigrants. Partisan differences in views have also not changed much since 2020.