Thread: Immigration Poll - Americans Prefer House [Hr 4437] Approach

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3839349.html

May 4, 2006, 1:03AM

Zogby poll on legal status goes against tide
By GEBE MARTINEZ
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - A poll conducted for a group that wants immigration restricted shows that two-thirds of American voters agree with its goal and that only 43 percent favor a Senate bill that would let most illegal immigrants apply for legal status.

The poll, conducted by Zogby International for the Center for Immigration Studies, runs counter to recent surveys by news organizations that show voters favoring a Senate plan to provide "earned legalization" for about 10 million illegal immigrants.

In the latest Zogby survey, 69 percent responded favorably to the House bill, which was described as a plan "that does not increase the number of people allowed into the country legally." A virtually equal portion said legal and illegal immigration should be reduced.

The poll interviewed 1,008 likely voters between April 17 and April 24 and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

Support for the Senate bill was lower in the poll for the Center for Immigration Studies because the bill was described as doubling the number of green cards "in the future from 1 to 2 million a year," said research director Steven Camarota.

Experts generally agree with the green card estimate.

"When you tell them that, they don't like that," Camarota said of the proposed legalization plan. "They say, 'What?' "

The poll's methodology was faulted by Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Public Research, which is urging passage of the Senate bill.

"If you look at polling done by all the major polling organizations this past month, voters do think that illegal immigrants here should have a chance to earn their way to citizenship," Jacoby said. "There's been a sea change in public opinion."

The Zogby survey overlapped with an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, conducted April 21-24, in which 61 percent favored letting illegal immigrants stay if they pass a security check, pay taxes and meet other conditions similar to those listed in the pending Senate bill.

Pollsters have been closely tracking voter sentiment on the immigration issue, especially since late March, when immigrant rights activists began staging marches that have drawn about 2 million people across the country.

gebe.martinez@chron.com

http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?p ... on5306.htm

Immigration Poll - Americans Prefer House [Hr 4437] Approach on Immigration

May 3, 2006 - Washington, DC - PipeLineNews.org via CIS - A new Zogby poll of likely voters, using neutral language (see wording on following pages), finds that Americans prefer the House of Representatives’ enforcement-only bill by 2-1 over Senate proposals to legalize illegal immigrants and greatly increase legal immigration.

The poll was conducted for the Center for Immigration Studies.

On immigration generally, Americans want less, not more, immigration. Only 26 percent said immigrants were assimilating fine and that immigration should continue at current levels, compared to 67 percent who said immigration should be reduced so we can assimilate those already here.

While the Senate is considering various bills that would increase legal immigration from 1 million to 2 million a year, 2 percent of Americans believe current immigration is too low. This was true for virtually every grouping in the survey by ethnicity, income, age, religion, region, party, or ideology thought immigration was too low.

When offered by itself, there is strong support for the House bill: 69 percent said it was a good or very good idea when told it tries to make illegals go home by fortifying the border, forcing employer verification, and encouraging greater cooperation with local law enforcement while not increasing legal immigration; 27 percent said it was a bad or very bad idea.

Support for the House approach was widespread, with 81 percent of Republicans, 72 percent of independents, 57 percent of Democrats, and 53 percent of Hispanics saying it was good or very good idea. When offered by itself, there is also some support for the Senate approach, thought not as much as for the House bill: 42 percent said the Senate approach was a good or very good idea when told it would allow illegal immigrants to apply for legal status provided they met certain criteria, and it would significantly increase legal immigration and increase enforcement of immigration laws; 50 percent said it was a bad or very bad idea.

There were few groups in which a majority supported the Senate plan, even when presented by itself, exceptions included Hispanics 62 percent of whom said it was a good or very good idea and the most liberal voters (progressives) 54 percent of whom approved of it.

Visit Center For Immigration Studies for the complete article.

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/14325.html

US Citizens Favor House Immigration Bill
May 03, 2006 01:34 PM EST

By Sher – A new Zogby poll indicates that American citizens favor the wording in the House’s Border Security and Immigration Reform bill over the attempts of the Senate to water it down. The poll, conducted for the Center of Immigration Studies (CIS), found that US citizens preferred the House bill 2-1 over the Senate’s emerging version.


The CIS reports: “On immigration generally, Americans want less, not more, immigration. Only 26 percent said immigrants were assimilating fine and that immigration should continue at current levels, compared to 67 percent who said immigration should be reduced so we can assimilate those already here” and “when given a choice between just the House and Senate approaches, without the choice of mass deportations, the public prefers the House approach 64 percent version to 30 percent.”


http://www.cis.org/articles/2006/2006poll.html

Great Poll!! An official "scientific poll".

Excellent!!

I'm posting this puppy for the Hard Heads!!

Thanks CIS!

Good Work!