Thread: Illegals losing support of the citizens of North Carolina

Illegal Aliens losing support of the citizens of North Carolina
CAROLINAS POLL
Fewer support plans to let illegal immigrants stay
GREG LACOUR
glacour@charlotteobserver.com
http://chapelhillblog.blogspot.com/

A higher percentage of Carolinians than ever opposes efforts to allow illegal immigrants to stay in the United States and work their way toward citizenship, a Charlotte Observer/WCNC News Carolinas Poll shows.

The 2007 Carolinas Poll -- which interviewed more than 1,000 people, most in the Charlotte region -- asked people whether they support or oppose a proposal to allow illegal immigrants to stay as guest workers and have a chance at citizenship.

Fifty-three percent said they oppose it, and 36 percent support it. The remaining 11 percent said they weren't sure or refused to answer.

The divide is considerably wider than it's been in the last two Carolinas Polls. Asked a simpler question -- Do you support or oppose a plan to allow illegal immigrants to stay? -- 46 percent opposed it in 2005, and 40 percent supported it. Last year, the gap was even closer, with 45 percent opposing and 43 percent in support.

One difference is that the proposal, more abstract in previous years, gained focus in 2007 as the U.S. Senate prepared to vote on a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

The bill, which died on the Senate floor in June, would have established a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and a guest worker system. But it also would have ushered in tougher border control measures and a crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants.

As the Senate vote neared, the bill's more vociferous opponents used a network of conservative talk radio programs, blogs and other means to amplify their message. The media attention pushed the issue more firmly into voters' minds, said Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Public Life at UNC Chapel Hill.

Still, he said, 53 percent doesn't indicate insurmountable opposition, even if what's there is fierce. A significant minority believes immigrants can benefit a community with labor and added culture, he said.

"There's going to be continued tension and debate," Guillory said, "as we sort our way through this wave of immigration."

In the Carolinas, most of the immigration, illegal or otherwise, has come from Latinos. The Charlotte area's Hispanic population, which had already soared in the late 1990s, shot up again in the first five years of this decade. Mecklenburg County's Hispanic population increased by nearly 60 percent in that time, according to U.S. Census data.

Even among those who support limited amnesty or guest worker programs for illegal immigrants, the tension shows.

"They need to get themselves legal. They need to quit standing around at the Home Depot looking for day labor," said Jamie Smith, 27, a Roseboro resident, unaffiliated with any political party, who said she supports some amnesty for illegal immigrants. "I know it's a damn hard process. But you've got to do it if you want to be here."

Teri Clark, 51, a Charlotte bookkeeper, said she understands that illegal immigrants often take low-wage jobs no one else wants -- and that's why she opposes any kind of amnesty.

"I think they need to go back to Mexico to work," said Clark, a Democrat. "I just think you're taking away opportunities from a lot of the youth of America."

It's harder, of course, to say what should be done. "I don't have an easy answer for that," she said. "I know it's a next-to-impossible task. I just know I don't like it."

Legal immigrants, though, have helped the company where Timothy Smith works. (He's not related to Jamie Smith.) Timothy Smith declined to name the company. But he said he's been impressed by the work ethic of the immigrants the firm has hired.

"We have people here who have immigrated from South American countries, and my hat's off to them," said Smith, a 43-year-old Republican from Walhalla, S.C. "I feel like they deserve a chance if they're working."

Among important national issues, immigration stands alone in that it cuts across party lines, said Andrew Taylor, chairman of the political science department at N.C. State University.

Republicans who support amnesty or guest worker programs tend to do so in the name of unfettered trade and a free-flowing labor market, Taylor said. Democrats who oppose it tend to worry about the effects of cheap labor on the wages of organized workers.

But it comes down to one simple choice, he said: "Should we give immigrants legal status? That's really the lightning rod."

53%

Oppose it

36%

Support it

11%

Weren't sure or refused to answer

About the Poll

The Charlotte Observer/WCNC News 2007 Carolinas Poll was conducted Aug. 15-19 by Braun Research of Princeton, N.J., which interviewed 600 people by telephone in Mecklenburg County. The firm interviewed an additional 201 people in the rest of the state and 300 in South Carolina. The sampling error for the responses is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

THE IMMIGRATION QUESTION

Q. A recent proposal suggests allowing illegal immigrants who are currently here to stay as guest workers and have a chance to become citizens. Do you support or oppose this proposal?

Democrat Republican Unaffiliated

Support 38.6% 25.1% 45.1%
Oppose 48.9% 65.2% 47.6%
Not sure12.4% 9.7% 7.2%

AMERICA IS WAKING UP......AND IS NOT A MORNING PERSON....LOL

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