Thread: Illegal Immigration: Voters Reject Guest-Worker Plan

http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/pu ... 5576.shtml

Illegal Immigration: Voters Reject Guest-Worker Plan
By Matthew A. Roberts
May 5, 2006

A new Zogby poll of likely voters finds that Americans prefer, by two to one, the House of Representatives’ enforcement-only bill to the Senate’s plan to grant guest-worker status. Sixty-four percent of Americans support the House bill, with only 30 percent supporting the Senate plan. Support for the enforcement-only approach by itself also proves to be widespread, with 81 percent of Republicans, 72 percent of Independents, 57 percent of Democrats, and 53 percent of Hispanics supporting the enforcement-only House bill.

Regarding legal immigration, this poll demonstrates that Americans want less - not more - immigration, with only two percent responding that current immigration levels are too low. The Senate plan, which would increase legal immigration from one to two million a year, appears blatantly at odds with the wishes of voters. Americans, through and through, do not think we need more people, not even for low-paying jobs. Seventy-four percent of likely voters think that there are enough Americans to fill low-wage jobs, if employers would pay and treat employees better.

What do these numbers mean? Most Democrats, President Bush, and many Republicans in the Senate are out of touch. This news could be particularly damaging for Democrats, given that a majority of their constituents generally support an enforcement-only approach. It could also be damaging for certain Republicans (like Senators McCain, Brownback, DeWine, or Graham) who currently attempt to auction off citizenship for (unlikely) future votes. Senate Republicans ignoring their base on immigration will likely benefit Democrats this November. Many Republicans are so angry over the guest-worker proposal that they may vote third-party or not vote at all.

This poll is the first poll to ask the question - using neutral language - whether likely voters prefer the House bill (enforcement-only) or Senate (guest-worker) plan. This outcome interestingly depicts that despite all the pro-amnesty rhetoric in the liberal media, 64 percent of Americans still favor an enforcement-only approach. If we were to have a more balanced media, with more opponents of immigration allowed to speak, this number would possibly jump from 64 to 80 percent.

Although previous polls showed that more Americans may support a guest-worker plan, the wording of such polls proved at best questionable, at worst blatantly biased. Critics, however, have always been skeptical of previous polls, especially when almost every person you know - Democrat or Republican - says he wants the same thing: (1) no guest-worker plan, (2) a border secured by guards and a physical fence, and (3) a massive reduction in legal and illegal immigration.

where are we suppose to put all these millions of people that Congress is so insistent on bringing here? for a country to survive, it needs farmland -- land to raise crops and livestock. I thought it was bad enough when the IRS confiscated property that had been in families for generations for inheritance taxes

I heard the new poll numbers on CNN tonight and the republican controlled Congress and Senate are down in the upper 20's with approval ratings. They are losing their base over illegal immigration and I can't help but feel they are not dumb enough to think the illegal's will vote them back into office.

George Bush and his corruption will take down the entire party if they persist to push amnesty.

I still say we need an expert attorney in constitutional law to be prepared to file some type of injunction against the Government to force this issue to be voted on my LEGAL Americans and LEGAL immigrants.

Taxation without Representation !!!! Negligence, corruption, you name it. We have them nailed on all of it.