By Lawrence Henry on 3.30.07 @ 12:07AM
Polling only adds to the confusion.
At first blush, that question seems ridiculous. Each of us, it
seems, knows exactly how we feel about immigration, legal and
illegal. What is more, each of us seems very sure that we hold a
majority view. And each of us -- from immigration doves like the
editorial page writers for the Wall Street Journal to
immigration hawks like Tom Tancredo -- tends to hold his view with
some vehemence.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of polls have been taken on the
subject. Polls, of course, often produce tendentious results -- it
depends on how you ask questions. And there are now polls of polls
and roundups of polls galore on the subject. I started searching
polls after reading a column by Jeff Jacoby in which he said,
basing his conclusion on a Gallup poll, that 59 percent of
Americans favor some sort of path to legality for existing illegal
immigrants.
That poll most certainly exists. I have placed a link to it, and
to Jeff Jacoby's original two columns on immigration, at the end of
this column. I have similarly placed links to other polls I cite at
the end of the column, rather than break up the presentation in
text.
THE GALLUP RESULTS ARE ECHOED in many other polls. Fox News'
Opinion Dynamics polls, from April of 2006, found that 69 percent
of respondents favored allowing illegal immigrants currently in the
country to stay under a grant of legal guest worker status.
Time magazine, in a poll summarized by Immigration
Forum, and taken in March of 2006, finds that 79 percent of
responders favor a "guest worker" program. Some 80 percent favor
letting illegal immigrants stay if they have a job, learn English,
and pay taxes.
But Gallup's result on the deportation question differs sharply
from other polls, likely because of methodology. Gallup gave
respondents a one-in-three choice: deport, temporary guest-worker,
or path to citizenship. Under that stringent choice, only 24
percent supported deportation.
Fox, which asked a great many questions, but without insisting
on exclusive answers, found that 57 percent of people favored
deporting illegal aliens.
A POLITICIAN SEEKING AN IMMIGRATION-BASED platform might find it
hard to figure out what it is that Americans do think. The Center
for Immigration studies commissioned a Zogby poll to determine what
likely voters thought of the contrasting House and Senate
immigration bills. By more than two to one, respondents preferred
the restrictionist, enforcement-first provisions of the House
bill.
That would seem to support findings in the Fox/Opinion Dynamics
poll, which says that 90 percent of respondents think immigration
is a "very serious" (60 percent) or "somewhat serious" (30 percent)
problem. Want confusion? The lead to the story about the same poll
says, "Seven in 10 people say they favor allowing illegals that
have jobs to apply for temporary-worker status, but eight in 10
think it is unfair to grant rights to illegal immigrants while so
many others wait to come to the United States legally."
IT IS NO WONDER POLICY-MAKERS don't do anything about immigration.
Legislators and executives mostly have to make either-or choices.
Everyday Americans, when forced to choose between enforcement and
legality, largely favor some legal path. But, when not forced to
make a decision, Americans' views are all over the map. We are a
caring people, but we are also pissed off. That's a tough horse for
any politician to ride.
*****
Links:
Jeff Jacoby: Illegal Immigrants Are Here to Stay
Jeff Jacoby: What If We Deport Them All?
Gallup: Public Still Supports Path to Citizenship for Illegal
Immigrants
FOX Poll: Views on Illegal Immigration, Bush Job Rating Down
Immigration Forum: Polling Summary: Public Support for Comprehensive
Immigration Reform.
Center for Immigration Studies: Americans Prefer House Approach on Immigration
*****
Lawrence Henry writes every week from North Andover,
Massachusetts.
topics:
Taxes, Law, Immigration
