Majority Favor Changing Immigration Laws, Poll Says
By JULIA PRESTON and MARJORIE CONNELLY
As opponents from the right and left challenge an immigration bill before Congress, there is broad support among Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike — for the major provisions in the legislation, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.
Taking a pragmatic view on a divisive issue, a large majority of Americans want to change the immigration laws to allow illegal immigrants to gain legal status and to create a new guest worker program to meet future labor demand, the poll found.
At the same time, Americans have mixed feelings about whether the recent wave of immigration has been beneficial to the country, the survey found, and they are sharply divided over how open the United States should be to future immigrants.
Half of all Americans say they are ready to transform the process for selecting new immigrants as proposed in the bill, giving priority to job skills and education levels over family ties to the United States, which have been the foundation of the immigration system for four decades.
Point by point, large majorities expressed support for measures contained in the legislation that has been under debate since Monday in the Senate. The nationwide telephone poll did not ask respondents about the immigration bill itself, but there were questions about its most significant provisions. It was conducted May 18 to 23 with 1,125 adults, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The bill, which is backed by President Bush and a bipartisan group of senators, would allow illegal immigrants who were in the United States before Jan. 1 of this year to obtain legal status by paying fines and passing background checks.
Two-thirds of those polled said illegal immigrants who have a good employment history and no criminal record should gain legal status as the bill proposes: by paying at least $5,000 in fines and fees and receiving a renewable four-year visa.
Many Republican lawmakers have rejected this plan, calling it amnesty that rewards immigrants who broke the law when they entered the United States. But the poll showed that differences are not great between Republicans and Democrats on this issue, with 66 percent of Republicans in the poll favoring the legalization proposal, as well as 72 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of independents.
Rick Nuñez, a 29-year-old quality control technician from Pennsauken, N.J., who identified himself as a Republican, said in a follow-up telephone call that he favored a legalization plan.
“Illegal immigrants are imbedded in our nation, so allowing them to apply for a work visa would be a good way to draw them in and set a path for them to become legal,â€
How Amnesty Advocates Insult Americans and Get Away With It
Quote:
Originally Posted by edstate
53% think illegals "do jobs American won't do"
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Obviously, because they've heard this mantra repeated ad infinitum by GW Bush and pro-amnesty pundits. This statement, besides being false, characterizes the American people as an elitist class. It's deeply insulting, and I can't believe how it's never challenged.
