Californians divided on Arizona immigration law
Californians divided on Arizona immigration law
Justin Ho, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
San Francisco Chronicle July 15, 2010 04:00 AM
Thursday, July 15, 2010
A slight majority of Californians favor Arizona's controversial law that makes illegal immigration a state crime and allows police officers in the Grand Canyon state to question people's immigration status based on "reasonable suspicion," according to a Field Poll released today.
However, the results are close and clearly divided along partisan lines. California voters approve of the law by a 49 to 45 percent margin. A 62 percent majority of Democrats disapprove of the law, while 77 percent of Republicans said they favor the law.
"It's a very divided public here in California," said Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo. Opinions here are much more divided (than national opinions), and I would even say that the splits are wider."
The poll also gauged whether respondents who will vote in the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections support or oppose the Arizona law. Supporters of Democrats Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer largely oppose the law, and supporters of Republicans Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina favor the law.
Gubernatorial undecided voters generally favored the law, and Senate race undecided voters were roughly split.
Corey Cook, professor of politics at the University of San Francisco, said that Californians' views on the Arizona law will probably have little effect on the two races. The real issue, Cook said, is how the candidates will deal with the immigration question.
Though Californians generally view illegal immigration unfavorably, the poll also found that respondents are less opposed to illegal immigration than those polled in 1982.
Cook also said the immigration issue requires a balancing act by Republicans as they try to both address conservative values and gain Latino support.
While most racial and ethnic groups that were polled generally favor the Arizona law, 71 percent of Latinos disapprove of the law.
Whitman, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, has made several efforts to appeal to Latino voters in recent weeks. She opposes the Arizona law, and recently published an essay in several bilingual newspapers highlighting her similarities with Brown, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, on the immigration issue. The Brown campaign has challenged this claim.
Fiorina, a Republican challenging Boxer for the U.S. Senate seat, has come out in support of the law. The candidate recently criticized the Obama administration after the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the Arizona law. Because the lawsuit challenges Arizona's ability to regulate immigration as a state, Fiorina said the suit was inconsistent, telling KCBS radio and KPIX that the government "ought to be applying that standard consistently" with regard to San Francisco's sanctuary policies.
Moreover, most poll respondents have strong opinions about the Arizona law. Of the 62 percent of Democrats opposing the law, 49 percent said they strongly disapprove. Of the Republicans favoring the law, 64 percent said they strongly approve.
Some critics of the law, including several California cities, have called for a boycott of Arizona. San Francisco banned city employees from traveling to the state, and a resolution in the Legislature calling for a boycott is supported by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, among others.
Walter Stone, chairman of the political science department at UC Davis, said that the issue will be less relevant in the gubernatorial race because both candidates oppose the Arizona law.
"It may cause some Republicans to entertain doubts about Whitman, but the choice is still between Whitman and Brown," Stone said. "Party responsibility is a stronger force."
The poll was conducted between June 22 and July 5, surveying 1,390 registered voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
Field Poll results
California opinions on Arizona's immigration law:
49% approve
45% disapprove
Partisan divide:
62% of Democrats disapprove
77% of Republicans approve
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