Most Americans back a guest-worker program and a proposal allowing illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens that were part of legislation the Senate shelved last week after it failed to gain sufficient support, according to a Bloomberg News/Los Angeles Times poll released last week.
The poll shows at least a plurality of Americans favors the two most contentious provisions of the bill: the proposal to offer 12 million undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship and the program for temporary workers.
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
Of a third provision – a point system for immigrants based on professional qualifications – many say they don’t have enough information to have an opinion.
Moreover, most of those surveyed appear to reject one of the central arguments deployed by the bill’s opponents: The poll finds that less than a third of all respondents, including Republicans, believe illegal immigrants take jobs away from Americans who need them.
Still, analysts say opponents have an impact that is disproportionate to their numbers because of the intensity of their feelings and capacity to organize.
“For a minority of people, immigration is the most important issue, and they are the ones who are defining the debate with volatile rhetoric and their activism,” said Nathan Gonzales, a political editor at the Rothenberg Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter based in Washington, D.C.
The vast majority of poll respondents – 86 percent – said illegal immigration is an important problem facing the nation. Still, more than half of those surveyed, 56 percent, said immigrants take jobs that no American wants.
“People are living in a dreamland if they think our economy can survive without these people,” says Paul Evans, a 52-year-old Republican. Evans, a retired Marine officer and pilot, lives in Etowah, N.C., a rural part of the state where many apple orchards employ immigrant workers.
The poll also suggests Congress may have to work harder to educate Americans on legislation it is considering. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada – who pulled the measure after he was unable to garner enough support to bring it to a vote in the closely divided chamber — said June 8 that he would consider reviving it “as soon as enough Republicans are ready to join us.”
