american public opinion on immigrants & immigration policy

8/3/2019 American Public Opinion on Immigrants & Immigration Policy

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THE POLLSTRENDSAMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION ON IMMIGRANTS AND

IMMIGRATION POLICY

FRANCINE SEGOVIA*

RENATTA DEFEVER

Abstract Since the issue of immigration and its effects on the United

States persists and discussions on the topic continue to intensify, this ar-

ticle reviews public opinion trends on immigrants and immigration. We

review Americans overall assessment of immigrants and immigration-

related issues such as immigrant impact on the U.S. economy, percep-

tions of elected officials performance on handling immigration issues,

and preferred approaches to immigration policy. We draw our frame-

work from Lapinski et al.s 1997 Public Opinion Quarterly review of

public attitudes and beliefs regarding immigrants and immigration. This

study updates the trends presented in 1997, beginning in many cases

with the final time point presented in that earlier article and including

current national public opinion trends of questions not previously docu-

mented but which have become relevant to the current immigration

debate. The current review reveals mixed attitudes, dualities in Ameri-

cans thinking, and splits on immigration issues. In the current review,

public opinion is at times ambivalent, espousing certain attitudes that

challenge others. In addition, less extreme attitudes are revealed in the

publics view of certain policies as compared with Lapinski et al.s piece.

Spanning what will now be over a decade, public opinion indicates an

increasing concern over immigration issues in addition to a lack of con-

FRANCINE SEGOVIA is a U.S. Navy Research psychologist at the Robert E. Mitchell Center for

Prisoner of War Studies, Pensacola, FL, USA. RENATTA DEFEVER is a graduate student in the

School of Education, University of CaliforniaDavis, Davis, CA, USA. This project was sup-

ported in part by the Public Policy Institute of California. The authors are especially thankful

to Dr. Max Neiman, Associate Director of Research at the Public Policy Institute of California,

Dr. Robert Sellers, University of Michigan Department of Psychology professor and Associate

Chair, and Dr. James Jackson, professor and Director for the Institute for Social Research at

the University of Michigan, for the comments and guidance provided on this project. The survey

results reported here were obtained from searches of the iPOLL Databank and other resources

provided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Connecticut. *Addresscorrespondence to Francine Segovia, Robert E. Mitchell Center for Prisoner of War Studies, 220

Hovey Road Pensacola FL 32508 USA; e-mail: francine segovia@med navy mil

Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 74, No. 2, Summer 2010, pp. 375394


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fidence in the ability of the countrys leaders to address them. More than

half of todays immigrants came to the United States in the 1990s, and

their share of the population is at historically peak levels. Estimates in-

dicate that between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. foreign-born populationgrew by more than 11 million. As the rise in the immigrant population

has increased, so have debates over how best to handle immigration is-

sues. Although policymakers have suggested a variety of possible

solutions, public opinion seems deeply divided on how best to handle

immigration.

The Current Study

Since the issue of immigration and its effects on the United States persists anddiscussions on the topic continue to intensify, this paper reviews public opin-

ion trends on immigrants and immigration. Our framework is drawn from

Lapinski et al.s (1997) review of public attitudes regarding immigrants and

immigration in Public Opinion Quarterly. The current study updates trends

presented in 1997 in addition to recent national public opinion not previously

covered in the earlier piece, but which has become relevant to the current

immigration debate. Using the Roper Centers iPOLL Databank, researchers

located datasets using the following key terms: immigrant/immigration,

illegal/legal immigrants, and foreigners. Only questions with identical orsimilar wording to each other and which were appropriate for comparison

across time were included in this report.

Synopsis of Findings

In the current review, the public appears conflicted and ambivalent about im-

migration. Opinions on the governments ability to handle immigration issues,

in addition, reveal extreme and clearly negative attitudes. However, an ambiv-

alence is also reflected in the survey data, for instance, in public concernabout illegal immigrants and the belief that illegal immigrants contribute to

the United States. In addition, although the majority of Americans espouse

some form of policy allowing illegal immigrants the opportunity to become

legal citizens, there is much variation in the particular mechanism through

which this is to occur. The last review of American public opinion on im-

migration revealed perspectives toward immigrants and immigration that

were predominantly negative. This review, however, reveals mixed attitudes,

dualities in American thinking, and even splits on immigration issues.

GENERAL OPINION ON IMMIGRANTS AND IMMIGRATION

Segovia and DeFever376


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migration should be decreased. Despite an increase in immigrants in the Unit-

ed States (Camarota 2004), the percentage of people believing thatimmigration levels need to be decreased declined nearly 20 percentage points

between 1995 and 2007 (table 1). Only once in the current decade did the

percentage of Americans believing that immigration should be decreased ever

reach levels comparable to those of the early 1990s. Indeed, between 2000

and 2007, the percentage of Americans believing that immigration needed

to be decreased stayed in the 40th percentile, indicating a consistent decrease

from the earlier decade. This raises important issues regarding whether atti-

tudes toward immigration are driven by the facts on the ground or whether

some contextual factors such as the state of the economy, thepolitics

of thetimes, or media coverage of the issue are actually the important determinants

of how the public perceives immigrants and the immigration issue (Neiman

Table 1. General Attitudes Toward Immigration. Should immigration bekept at its present level, increased, or decreased?

GALLUP/

CNN/USA

Today GALLUP GALLUP GALLUP

GALLUP/

CNN/USA

Today

GALLUP/

CNN/USA

Today

7/95 2/99 9/00 3/01 10/01 9/02

(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Present 28 41 41 41 30 26

Increased 8 10 13 10 8 17

Decreased 62 44 38 43 58 54

DK/No

opinion

4 5 8 6 4 3

N 801 1,013 2,000 1,024 1,006 1,003

GALLUPa GALLUPa GALLUPa

GALLUP/

CNN/USA

Todaya GALLUPa GALLUPa

6/03

(%)

6/04

(%)

6/05

(%)

12/05

(%)

6/06

(%)

6/07

(%)

Present 37 33 34 31 42 35

Increased 13 14 16 15 17 16

Decreased 47 49 46 51 39 45DK/No

opinion

3 4 4 3 2 4

N 1,385 2,250 2,264 1,003 2,032 2,388

aData from these surveys were drawn from a national sample of adults including oversamples of

Blacks and Hispanics. The results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

Poll Trends Immigrants and Immigration Policy 377


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Concern over illegal immigrants: American concern over immigration

reveals equal if not increased levels of concern as compared with the earlier

decade. In 1993, when Time magazine asked Americans how concerned they

were about illegal immigration, nearly half of Americans reported being

greatly concerned (table 2a). A decade later, concern remained high. Public

concern during the current decade increasingly escalated between 2001 and2007. While only 28 percent of Americans reported being greatly concerned

b ill l i i i i 2001 b 2007 45 f A i d

Table 2a. Attitudes Toward Illegal Immigrants. Now Id like you to con-centrate on those immigrants who are in this country illegallyin other words,immigrants who do not have the permission of the government to live in the

United States and can be deported if they are caught. Does the presence of il-legal aliens in this country concern you a great deal, somewhat, or not at all?

Time/YP Time/CNN/YP

9/93

(%)

9/94

(%)

Great deal 48 49

Somewhat 40 41

Not at all 12 9

Not sure 1 1

N 1,108 800

Table 2b. Personal Worry About Immigration. GALLUP: Next Im go-ing to read a list of problems facing the country. For each one, please tellme if you personally worry about this problem a great deal, a fair amount,only a little, or not at all. How much do you personally worry about illegalimmigration?

4/01

(%)

4/02

(%)

4/03

(%)

4/04

(%)

4/05

(%)

4/06

(%)

4/07

(%)

A great deal 28 33 37 37 33 43 45

A fair amount 24 25 26 22 23 29 23

Only a little 29 26 23 25 29 18 20

Not at all 18 16 13 15 14 10 12

No opinion 1 * 1 1 1 * 1

N 1,060 1,006 1,008 1,005 1,004 1,000 1,009

*Less than 0.5 percent.



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Additionally, Lapinski et al.s review revealed a public split on the issue of

illegal immigration. Since then, public concern over illegal immigration has

increased. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2006 by Schul-

man, Ronca & Bucuvalas, Inc., for instance, finds the American public

making an explicit distinction between legal and illegal immigration.1

It isapparently illegal, not legal, immigration that concerns Americans. As such,

Americans report that illegal immigration is a bigger problem (60 percent) for

the United States as compared to legal (4 percent) immigration. This finding

parallels previous results reported in Lapinski et al.s (1997) review indicat-

ing that Americans negative sentiment is directed primarily at illegal

immigrants.

Assessment of immigrant residency status: The matter of legal versus illegal

immigrants is made even more complex by the fact that Americans typically

believe that immigrants are here illegally. More than a decade ago, seven in 10

Americans believed that most of the people who had moved to the United

Table 3. Illegality of Immigrants. CBS/NYT: Do you think most of the peo-ple who have moved to the United States in the last few years are here legally,or are most of them here illegally?

6/93

(%)

12/01

(%)

5/07

(%)

Legal 17 29 16

Illegal 68 53 75

Half and half 5 3 2

No opinion 9 15 7

N 1,363 1,052 1,125

Table 4. Evaluations of Personal Characteristics of Immigrants. Gener-ally, do todays immigrants work harder than people born here, not as hard, orisnt there much difference?

CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS CBS/NYT

6/93

(%)

1/04

(%)

10/05

(%)

5/07

(%)

Harder 45 46 46 46

Not as hard 9 6 6 8

Not much difference 37 39 43 39

Depends/DK 9 9 5 7

N 1,363 1,022 808 1,125



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States in the past few years were here illegally (table 3). By 2007 the majorityof Americans continued to believe this. Although this percentage dropped to

about 50 percent of Americans in 2001, by 2007 nearly eight in 10 Americans

believed that most people who had recently moved to the United States were

here illegally (table 3).

Immigrants contribution to the United States: Complicating our understand-

ing of Americans views of immigrants are the mixed attitudes expressed on

the issue of immigrants and their impact on societal resources. While Amer-

icans are generally concerned about the presence of immigrants in the United

States, a duality is observed when inquiring into immigrants contribution tothe country. As reported in Lapinski et al. (1997), Americans distinguish

Table 5. Perceived Impact of Immigrants/Immigration on the UnitedStates. Overall, would you say most recent immigrants to the United Statescontribute to this country, or do most of them cause problems?

CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS CBS/NYT CBS/NYT

6/86

(%)

6/93

(%)

1/94

(%)

12/01

(%)

5/07

(%)

Contribute 34 30 29 51 57

Cause problems 44 50 53 31 28

Both (vol.) 7 7 8 4 6

Depends on origin (vol.) 2 2 2 1 1

DK/No answer 13 11 8 13 8

N 1,618 1,363 1,210 1,052 1,125

Table 6. Immigration: Good or Bad for Country? GALLUP: On thewhole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this coun-try today?a

6/01

(%)

6/02

(%)

6/03

(%)

6/05

(%)

6/06

(%)

6/07

(%)

Good thing 62 52 58 61 67 60Bad thing 31 42 36 34 28 33

Mixed (vol.) 5 4 4 3 4 3

No opinion 2 2 2 2 1 4

N 1,004 1,360 1,385 2,264 2,032 2,388

aAll data in this table are based on a national adult sample including oversamples of Blacks

and Hispanics. The results are weighted to be representative of a national adult population.



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tion of Americans are greatly concerned about the presence of immigrants

in the United States (table 2b), a plurality in 2007, as in the previous

decade, believed that immigrants work harder than people born in the

United States (table 4). This pattern is further reflected in the almost

six in 10 Americans who believe that immigrants contribute to the United

States, a clear increase from the roughly three in 10 Americans that believed

this was so in 1986 (table 5). Additionally, six in 10 Americans believe that,

in general, immigration is a good thing for the country (table 6).

Perceived impact of immigrants on Americans and the American worker:Americans are anxious about immigrants impact on public service costs

Table 7. Immigrants as Productive Citizens or Taxpayer Burden. GALL-UP: Which comes closer to your point of viewimmigrants in the long run

become productive citizens and pay their fair share of taxes, or immigrants

cost the taxpayers too much by using government services like public educa-tion and medical services?

7/93

(%)

12/94

(%)

2/99

(%)

9/00

(%)

6/05a

(%)

Pay fair share of taxes 37 36 47 48 49

Cost taxpayers too much 56 57 45 40 44

Neither/Both (vol.)/No opinion 7 7 8 12 7

N 1,002 1,016 1,013 1,008 2,264

a

National adult sample including oversamples of Blacks and Hispanics. Results are weightedto be representative of a national adult population.

Table 8. Immigrants: Help or Hurt the Economy? GALLUP: Do youthink immigrants mostly help the economy by providing low-cost labor, ormostly hurt the economy by driving wages down for many Americans?

7/93a

(%)

2/99

(%)

9/00

(%)

1/04a

(%)

6/05b

(%)

Mostly help 28 42 44 30 42Mostly hurt 64 48 40 65 49

Neither (vol.) 2 3 7 2 3

Both (vol.) 2 1 3 1 3

No opinion 4 6 6 2 3

N 1,002 1,013 1,008 1,003 2,264

aAsked of Form B, half sample; 1,003 is the full sample.bSample included oversamples of Blacks and Hispanics. Results are weighted to be represen-

tative of a national adult population.



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have clearly decreased from those in 1993 (64 percent), 49 percent of Amer-

icans in 2005 reported believing that immigrants mostly hurt the economy bydriving wages down for many Americans (table 8).

Complicating these negative perceptions of immigrant impact on American

wages and services are increasingly positive perceptions of immigrant impact

on the United States in general. In 2007, for instance, 46 percent of Americans

reported that immigration helps more than it hurts the United States, a clear

increase from the 37 percent who believed this in 2005 (table 9). In addition,

the majority of Americans today believe that immigrants take jobs Americans

do not want (tables 1013). In fact, the percentage of Americans believing

that immigrants take jobs away from American workers has notablydecreased. Data show that in 1994 the number of people believing that

Table 9. Immigration Helps or Hurts the United States. NBC News/WSJ/Hart and McInturff Research: Would you say that immigration helps the Unit-ed States more than it hurts it, or that immigration hurts the United States

more than it helps it?

12/05

(%)

4/06a

(%)

7/06

(%)

6/07b

(%)

Helps more than it hurts 37 45 45 46

Hurts more than it helps 53 45 42 44

Not sure 10 10 13 10

N 1,006 1,109 1,010 1,114

aNational adult sample with an oversample of Hispanics. Results are weighted to be represen-

tative of a national adult population.bSurvey by NBC, Wall Street Journal, and Hart and McInturff Research.

Table 10. Perceived Impact of Immigrants on Jobs. HARRIS: Id like toread you a series of questions about immigration in this country (UnitedStates). For each statement, please tell me if you agree or disagree New im-migrants take jobs away from American workers?

06/92a

(%)

12/94

(%)

Applies 62 64

Does not apply 37 35

Not sure/DK 1 1

N 1,418 1,250

aSample included an oversample of Blacks. The results were weighted to be representative of a

national adult population.



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illegal immigrants took jobs Americans needed; by 2007, however, only

27 percent reported believing this (table 13). It is worth tracking this into

the future as the supply of higher-skilled workers is stressed and more

employers are looking to import engineers and scientists to deal with

looming shortages in such fields (Saxenian, 2002).

Table 11. Immigrants: Jobs from Americans? Now Id like you to thinkspecifically about recent immigrants. What I mean are people who have cometo the United States to live and work in the past 10 years or so... Do you think

recent immigrants take away jobs from Americans who want them or not?

NPR/Kaiser/

Harvard

Foundation for

Ethnic Understandinga

5/04

(%)

9/05

(%)

Yes/Agree 46 35

No/Disagree 52 58

Neither agree nor disagree N/A 5

Dont know 1 2

N 1,888 1,388

aNow I am going to read you some statements that people have made about immigration, and I

would like you to tell me if you agree or disagree with that statement... Immigrants take away jobs

from Americans. Sample included oversamples of Blacks, Hispanics, and Jewish Americans. The

results are weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

Table 12. Immigrants: Jobs Americans Dont Want? Do you think theimmigrants coming to this country today mostly take jobs away from Amer-

ican citizens, or do they mostly take jobs Americans dont want?

CBS NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT CBS/NYT

1/94

(%)

12/95

(%)

2/96

(%)

7/03a

(%)

1/04

(%)

Take jobs away 31 36 39 30 39

Take unwanted jobs 52 55 51 59 53

Both 10 N/A 7 6 4


N 1,210 1,265 1,223 3,092 1,022

aSample included an oversample of Hispanics. The results were weighted to be representative

of a national adult population.



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IMMIGRATION POLICIES AND POLITICAL FIGURES HANDLING OF IMMIGRATION

ISSUES

Policymakers have proposed a variety of possible solutions to the immigration

controversy, including stricter border enforcement, stricter and more certain

penalties for those who aid or employ immigrants, felony status for those con-

Table 14. Identification Policies. Do you believe everyone in the UnitedStates should be required to carry an identification card containing, amongother things, his picture and his fingerprints?

GALLUP ABC/WPaGALLUP/CNN/USA

TODAYb

1/42(%)

10/01(%)

01/02(%)

Favor 69 66 54

Oppose 25 32 43

No opinion/DK 6 2 3

N 1,500c 756 1,008

aWould you support or oppose a law requiring all adults in this country to carry a national

identification card that includes information such as their photograph and Social Security number?

Interviews by TNS Research.bWould you support or oppose a law requiring all adults in this country to carry a national

identification card that includes information such as their photograph and Social Security number?cSample size is approximate.

Table 13. Immigrants Take Jobs from Americans Who Need Them. Doyou think illegal immigrants mostly take jobs that nobody wants, or do theymostly take jobs away from Americans who need them?

LAT CBS/NYT LAT CBS/NYT LAT

3/81

(%)

5/06a

(%)

6/06

(%)

5/07

(%)

6/07

(%)

Jobs nobody wants 48 53 51 59 56

Jobs Americans need 40 36 27 30 27

Both N/A 9 17 9 11

Not sure/DK 12 2 5 2 6

N 1,681 1,241 1,321 1,125 1,183

a

Sample included an oversample of those 65 years and older. The results were weighted to berepresentative of a national adult population.



11/21

Table 16. Erecting a Wall Along the Border with Mexico. Please tell mewhether you would generally favor or oppose each of the following stepswhich have been proposed for reducing illegal immigration into the UnitedStates Erecting a wall along the border with Mexico?

GALLUPa

TIME/

CNN/

YPb GALLUPa

FOXc

Registered

voters TIME/ SRBIb

FOXc

Registered

voters

7/93

(%)

9/93

(%)

7/95

(%)

10/05

(%)

3/06

(%)

4/06

(%)

Favor 21 29 35 51 56 50

Oppose 71 68 62 37 40 43

Depends * * * * * 3

DK 2 4 3 12 3 4N 1,002 1,108 801 900 1,004 900

NOTE.The asterisks indicate not applicable.aThere have been several proposals regarding how to deal with the issue of illegal immigration.

Please tell me if you favor or oppose each of the following... Building a wall or security fence

along the U.S./Mexico border to stop illegal immigration?bHere are some policies that have been suggested to deal with illegal immigrants. Would you

favor or oppose... Building a security fence along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border to stop the

flow of illegals across that border?cDo you favor or oppose a proposal to build a 2,000-mile-long security fence along the U.S./

Mexico border to stop illegal immigration?

Table 15. Military Personnel to Secure Borders. Im going to read you afew ways that have been suggested to increase our border security. For eachone Id like you to tell me if you would or would not be in favor of it... Use

military personnel to patrol the borders?

ROPER ROPER a TIME/SRBIb TIME/SRBIb

4/90

(%)

4/92

(%)

1/06

(%)

3/06

(%)

Favor 80 65 57 62

Oppose 17 32 39 35

DK/No answer 3 3 4 3

N 1,144 1,100 1,002 1,004

a

Sample includes an oversample of Californians. The results were weighted to be representa-tive of a national adult population. Survey sponsored by the Federation for American Immigration

Reform.bDo you favor or oppose...stopping illegal immigrants from entering the United States by taking

whatever steps are necessary to guard the border with Mexico, including using U.S. military forces?



12/21

Status checking: Stemming perhaps from the inability to distinguish between

immigrants that are in the country legally and those here illegally, proposals

for national identification cards have been generally favored. For example, the

proposal to oblige everyone to carry identification cards containing their

picture andfingerprints was strongly favored in 1942 (69 percent; table 14). In

2001, nearly 66 percent of Americans approved of requiring all adults in the

United States to carry a national identification card that included information

such as their photograph and Social Security number. A year later, in 2002,

54 percent of Americans continued to approve of such a policy (table 14).Securing the nations borders: Public opinion over government policies

Table 17. Opinions Concerning a Fence Along the U.S./Mexico Border.Would you favor or oppose each of the following proposals... Building a 700-mile-long fence on the border with Mexico?

CNN CBS CNN CNN PEW CNN/ORCP

4/06

(%)

4/06

(%)

10/06

(%)

9/06

(%)

12/06

(%)

5/07

(%)

Favor 47 48 45 54 46 45

Oppose 47 48 53 44 48 53

DK/No answer 6 4 2 2 6 2

N 1,012 899 1,031 1,014 2,007 1,028

Table 18. Minutemen: Vigilantes or Concerned Citizens? FOX/ODP: Doyou think the citizen volunteers known as Minutemen, who are patrollingthe borders, are best described as vigilantes who should leave patrolling to

professional law enforcement, or as concerned citizens doing what the gov-ernment is not doing?

4/05

Registered

voters(%)

5/06

Registered

voters(%)

Vigilantes 34 34

Concerned citizens 44 46

Havent heard about (vol.) 10 9

DK 12 11

N 900 900



13/21

borders has gained and lost popularity over time. As of 2006, a solid majority

(62 percent) favored such proposals, a sizeable decline from the 80 percent that

favored this policy in 1990 (table 15). In addition, during the 1990s, 68 percent

of Americans opposed building a security fence along the United States/Mexico

border (Time 1993, in table 16). By 2006, however, opposition to building such

a fence decreased to 43 percent (in table 16). Similarly, the American public

has been reliably split on whether to erect a 700-mile-long fence along the

United States/Mexico border (table 17). In 2007, a slim majority of 53 per-

cent opposed it (table 17) Along the veins of protecting the borders in

Table 19. Policies for Handling Immigrants Already Here. GALLUP/USA Today: Which comes closest to your view about what government policyshould be toward illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States?

Should the government deport all illegal immigrants back to their home coun-try; allow illegal immigrants to remain in the United States in order to work,

but only for a limited amount of time; or allow illegal immigrants to remain inthe United States and become U.S. citizens, but only if they meet certain re-quirements over a period of time?

4/06

(%)

5/06

(%)

6/06a

(%)

3/07

(%)

Deport all 18 21 16 24

Remain in the U.S. in order to work 17 15 17 15

Remain in the U.S. and become citizen 63 61 66 59 No opinion 2 3 1 2

N 1,004 1,013 2,032 1,010

aSample included oversamples of Blacks and Hispanics. The results were weighted to be

representative of a national adult population.

Table 20. Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants. GALLUP: Do you think theUnited States should or should not make it easier for illegal immigrants to

become citizens of the United States?

8/01

(%)

1/04

(%)

6/05a

(%)

Should 28 23 28

Should not 67 74 70

No opinion 5 3 2

N 814 1,003 2,264

aSample included oversamples of Blacks and Hispanics. Results are weighted to be represen-

tative of a national adult population.



14/21


15/21

variation in the precise mechanisms involved in allowing illegal immigrants

the option of remaining in the United States and becoming citizens, most

Americans (59 percent) favor allowing illegal immigrants the option of

remaining in the United States and becoming citizens (table 19).

EVALUATIONS OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS HANDLING OF IMMIGRATION ISSUES

Alth h A i f i i ti li th

Table 24. Immigration Policy. Do you think immigration policy in thiscountry works pretty well and requires only minor changes, do you think itneeds major changes, or do you think it needs to be completely rebuilt?

PEW/PSRA CBS/NYTa

2/06(%) 5/07(%)

Only minor changes 23 8

Major changes 41 41

Completely rebuilt 27 49

DK/R 9 2

N 1,502 1,125

aWhich of the following three statements comes closest to expressing your overall view of

immigration policy in the United States? ... On the whole, our immigration policy works pretty

well and only minor changes are necessary to make it work better. There are some good things inour immigration policy, but fundamental changes are needed. Our immigration policy has so

much wrong with it that we need to completely rebuild it.

Table 23. Is the Government Doing Enough with Respect to Illegal Immi-gration? ABC/WP: Do you think the United States is or is not doing enough tokeep illegal immigrants from coming into this country? (If doing/not doing

enough, ask:) Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat?

1/05

(%)

8/05a

(%)

12/05a

(%)

4/06a

(%)

5/06a

(%)

Yes, doing enough, strongly 9 11 8 7 9

Yes, doing enough, somewhat 11 9 12 14 11

No, not doing enough, somewhat 18 18 20 19 19

No, not doing enough, strongly 58 62 59 56 58


N 1,007 1,006 1,003 1,027 1,103

aInterviews were conducted by TNS Research.



16/21

to keep illegal immigrants from coming to the country, 77 percent in 2006

said that it was not (table 23). In 2006, only 20 percent of respondents said

they approved of the way Congress was handling the nations immigration

policy (table 23). In fact, most Americans think that U.S. immigration policy

is in need of major change or should be completely rebuilt. The changes in

opinions regarding this issue are notable. When this question was asked in

2006, only 27 percent of Americans thought that U.S. immigration policy

needed rebuilding (table 24). A year later, perhaps as a reflection of the heated

immigration policy debates in Congress after the introduction of the Sensen- brenner bill, 49 percent of Americans thought that this should occur

Table 25. Political Parties: Right Decision. CBS/NYT: Regardless of howyou usually vote, do you think the Republican Party or the Democratic Partyis more likely to make the right decisions when it comes to dealing with im-

migration issues?

12/05

(%)

4/06

(%)

5/06a

(%)

5/07

(%)

Republican 32 31 29 32

Democratic 38 43 45 44

Both (vol.) 4 4 4 1

Neither (vol.) 9 8 5 7

DK 17 14 16 16

N 1,155 899 1,241 1,125

aSample included an oversample of those over 65 years of age. The results were weighted to be

representative of a national adult population.

Table 26. Party Politics: Better Job. NBC/WSJ/Hart and McInturff Re-search Companies: When it comes to...dealing with immigration, which partydo you think will do a better jobthe Democratic Party, the Republican Party,or both about the same? If you think that neither would do a good job, please

just say so.

11/05

(%)

6/06

(%)

1/07

(%)

Democratic 25 27 31

Republican 19 24 21

About the same 21 22 23

Neither (vol.) 26 20 19

Not sure 9 7 6

N 1,003 1,002 1,007



17/21

(table 24). Another interpretation for the percentage variation, however, might

simply be a wording difference in the questions in table 24, which, although

similar, were not identical.3

Democrats and Republicans: Public opinion demonstrates consistent varia-

tion across surveys in the trust Americans have that one party will more

capably handle immigration issues (tables 25 and 26). Americans think that

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to make the right decisions when

it comes to dealing with immigration (table 25). Since 2006, public opinion

has additionally rated the Democratic Party 12 percentage points higher thanthe Republican Party on this issue (table 25).

Table 27. President Clinton and Immigration. CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP: Thinking about some issues, do you approve or disapprove ofthe way President Bill Clinton is handling...immigration?

11/93

(%)

4/94a

(%)

Approve 33 28

Disapprove 51 55

DK/R 16 17

N 1,003 1,246

aSample included an oversample of Blacks. The results were weighted to be representative of a


Table 28. Rating of Clinton Administrations Handling of ImmigrationPolicy. GALLUP/CCFR: How do you rate the Clinton administrationshandling of the following problems? Would you say the administrationshandling of...immigration policy...has been excellent, good, fair, or poor?

10/94

(%)

10/98

(%)

Excellent 2 6

Good 13 22

Fair 25 30

Poor 53 29

Not sure 7 13

N 1,492 1,507

NOTE.Based on personal interviews. Both studies also included separate samples of opinion

leaders. The leaders were asked many of the same questions. These results are available from the

Roper Center.



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Table 29. President Bush and Immigration. CBS/NYT: Do you approve ordisapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the issue of immigration?

10/05

(%)

5/06a

(%)

5/07

(%)

Approve 21 26 27

Disapprove 53 58 60

DK/Refused 26 16 13

N 808 1,125 1,125

aSample included an oversample of those 65 years and older. Results are weighted to be rep-

resentative of a national adult population.

Table 30. Approval of President Bushs Handling of Immigration Policy.Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling thenation's immigration policy?

ABCa PEW/PSRA PEW/PSRA PEW/PSRA

1/04

(%)

10/05

(%)

2/06

(%)

4/06

(%)

Approve 34 24 23 25

Disapprove 56 54 57 62

DK/Refused 10 22 20 13

N 1,036 1,003 2,006 1,001

aInterviews conducted by TNS Research.

Table 31. Approval of President Bushs Handling of Immigration Issues.ABC/WP: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is han-dling...immigration issues?

1/05

(%)

8/05a

(%)

5/06a

(%)

5/07a,b

(%)

Approve 33 33 34 29

Disapprove 54 57 56 64

DK/Refused 13 10 10 8

N 1,007 1,006 1,103 1,205

aInterviews conducted by TNS Research.bSample included an oversample of Blacks. The results were weighted to be representative of a




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Between 1993 and 1994, just over half disapproved of the way President

Clinton handled immigration (table 27). Although President Clintons

approval ratings on handling immigration policy significantly improved from

1994 to 1998, less than one in three said he was doing an excellent or goodjob in this area in 1998 (table 28).

When it comes to immigration issues, however, President Bush has among

the highest disapproval ratings of any public servant (tables 2931). Sixty

percent of the American population disapproves of President Bushs handling

of the matter (table 29). The percentage of disapproval exceeds that of any

other governmental official or political party. His disapproval rating on han-

dling the nations immigration policy increased from 56 percent in 2004 to

62 percent in 2006 (table 30). President Bushs disapproval ratings in handling

immigration issues reached an all-time high in May 2007, with a solid majoritydisapproving of his performance (64 percent; table 31).

Conclusions

To date, less extreme attitudes are revealed in the publics opinion of certain

policies as compared to the 1990s. The majority of Americans continue to

espouse status-checking policies obliging everyone in the United States to

carry identification cards. There has been a general decrease in the publics

support of security measures entailing the building of fences and walls. Inaddition, the majority of Americans espouse some form of policy allowing

illegal immigrants the option of remaining in the United States. There

appears, however, to be increasingly extreme and clearly negative attitudes

as to whether the government and public servants can effectively implement

these policies.

Spanning what will now be over a decade, public opinion on immigration

indicates an increasing lack of confidence in U.S. leaders abilities to address

immigration issues. To date, the Senate, unable to find common ground, has

turned down an immigration bill that would have called for the biggest changein immigration laws in more than 20 years (Pear and Hulse, 2007). Supporters

of the bill argued, among other things, for the necessity to immediately

address the 12 million illegal immigrants already here. Opponents of the bill,

however, called it a form of amnesty for lawbreakers. The debate in the Senate

reflects the nations division over immigration. It is likely that debates about

different policies will only intensify in the future, when a new effort to start a

comprehensive reform is undertaken.

References



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Lapinski, John, Pia Peltola, Greg Shaw, and Alan Yang. 1997. Trends: Immigrants and Immi-

gration. Public Opinion Quarterly 61:35683.

Neiman, Max. 2007. Personal Communication. Public Policy Institute of California.

Pear, Robert, and Carl Hulse. 2007. Immigrant Bill Dies in Senate; Defeat for Bush. New York

Times, June 29, 2007.

Saxenian, Anna Lee. 2002. Brain Circulation: How High-Skilled Immigration Makes Everyone

Better Off. Brookings Review, Winter: 2831.



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