Thread: Survey: Legals fear a backlash

Survey: Legals fear a backlash
Some say politicians' handling of immigration issue fostering bias
By Michele R. Marcucci, STAFF WRITER



Legal immigrants feel that Beltway politicians are doing a poor job of handling the immigration issue, and they fear anti-immigrant sentiment is growing, according to a national poll released Tuesday.
The majority of the 800 people questioned in the multi-lingual poll, sponsored by New American Media in San Francisco, also said they do not feel illegal immigrants are hurting the economy.

"We haven't been listening to legal immigrants. We've been taking their name in vain," Sandy Close, executive director of New American Media, said of politicians who have said legal immigrants are angry with their undocumented counterparts.

Close said her organization and two others sponsored the poll to give legal immigrants a voice in the immigration reform debate.

About 26 million legal immigrants live in the United States, and immigrants are the fastest-growing group of new voters, Close said. Politicians could face a backlash at the polls if they do not pay attention to immigrants' wishes, she said.

Poll participants gave poor marks to both Democrats and Republicans for their handling of the immigration issue, with 22 percent saying Republicans are doing a good job and 38 percent saying that about Democrats. One in three respondents said President Bush is doing a good job handling the issue.

Most — 81 percent of all poll respondents and 90 percent of those from Latin America — said they think illegal immigrants are taking jobs that legal U.S. residents do not want to do and that the low-cost labor is helping the economy.

But many of those polled believe the direction and tone of the immigration debate is fueling anti-immigrant sentiment, Close said. Two-thirds of respondents said they believe anti-immigrant sentiment is growing, and most believe it is being fueled by racism and misinformation. More than half said this sentiment has personally affected them and their family.

Yeh Ling-Ling of the Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America in Oakland, which advocates for immigration controls, said the poll results are misleading.

"Immigration policy should be set according to our national interests, for the majority of American citizens and not illegal aliens," Yeh said.

The poll comes as the Senate decides whether to grant legal status to an estimated 12 million people who are in the country illegally or make them criminals for crossing the border without proper documents. The Senate is slated to debate several bills this week and could pass a bill by April 7.

Most poll respondents favored a bill by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., which offers illegal immigrants a chance to become legal U.S. residents.

A House bill, passed in December, would make it a criminal offense to enter the country illegally. It is now a civil offense.

The poll was conducted by Bendixen & Associates. It has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

It was co-sponsored by the Center for American Progress and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights' Education Fund.


Contact Michele R. Marcucci at mmarcucci@angnewspapers.com.

http://www.orovillemr.com/news/bayarea/ci_3650398

"Immigration policy should be set according to our national interests, for the majority of American citizens and not illegal aliens," Yeh said.

This guy has a clue.

Where is the survey of CITIZENS?????

Believe me, the Oroville paper is so small it's not worthy of a response. Did you notice that they surveyed 800 out of 26 million AND surveyed California, but still couldn't get more than a third to say Bush is RIGHT?

More propaganda!

MORE BS!!

Originally Posted by dataman

"Immigration policy should be set according to our national interests, for the majority of American citizens and not illegal aliens," Yeh said.

This guy has a clue.

Where is the survey of CITIZENS?????

Yeh Ling Ling is female. Per Chinese custom, Yeh is her family name, Ling Ling is her given (first) name.

You should look at the "New America" web site. The New America they support does not include white Americans.