Thread: Polls sees moderate GOP views on issue of migrant workers

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Polls sees moderate GOP views on issue of migrant workers
Web Posted: 10/18/2005 12:00 AM CDT

Hernán Rozemberg
Express-News Immigration Writer

Some of their elected leaders and pundits may draw headlines for anti-immigrant rhetoric, but rank-and-file Republicans have a more moderate attitude toward solving the nation's immigration dilemma, according to a new survey released Monday.

The poll of 807 likely GOP voters, conducted by the Tarrance Group for the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank in New York, concluded most Republicans want increased border security, but they also support allowing millions of undocumented migrants a chance at citizenship.

The poll asked about hypothetical immigration reform legislation, components of which were similar to several bills now in Congress.

A proposal calling for beefed-up border enforcement as well as an option for permanent legal residency for those who entered the country illegally, such as the bipartisan bill submitted by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., received support from 72 percent of respondents nationally and 76 percent in Texas.

But respondents' approval dropped to 57 percent for legislation emphasizing primarily enforcement, such as a separate bill co-sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

"Enforcement-only is not a political winner," said Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. "Republican voters want a solution, not just an empty gesture."

The point was not to show whether people favored specific proposals, but to demonstrate that most Republicans are realistic about plausible solutions, she said.

The poll also found:

33 percent of respondents said the current level of legal immigration should be kept steady, while 36 percent said they'd prefer to see it decreased.

Immigration was the fourth most important issue on voters' minds, after moral values, terrorism and the economy.

84 percent did not think it possible to send home the country's roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Such results seemed to vindicate President Bush's own proposal to overhaul the immigration system. But fervent, steadfast opposition within the party has been cited as the primary reason why he backed off pushing for a guest-worker program, which he originally offered in January 2004.

Republican leaders staunchly deny that their party contains an internal chasm over immigration, though they acknowledge the controversial issue has created a diversity of opinions.

Republican National Committee spokeswoman Tara Wall said the new poll proves most Republicans favor Bush's stance of tackling security and economic concerns simultaneously.

Critics of the poll readily pointed to the many other surveys on the subject that reached far different conclusions.

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, cited a CBS poll earlier this year in which 68 percent of GOP respondents said people who are in the country illegally should not get work permits.

Likewise, a Fox News poll indicated 67 percent of Republicans considered illegal immigration a "very serious" problem.

Such figures prove the Manhattan Institute is pushing propaganda, Smith said.

"They favor a guest-worker program, and they got the answers they wanted," he said.

Had the poll clearly asked if respondents favored giving legal status to people who are in the country illegally, the results would have been vastly different, Smith said.

Here's a pdf file of this so called poll.

http://www.immigrationforum.org.pdf

Being discussed here:

https://www.alipac.us/ftopict-11113.html

Needless to say, this poll is bogus, and was conducted way back in March at the behest of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Immigration Forum.

And it was designed by Celinda Lake of Democratic Party leaning polling and public relations firm Lake, Snell, Perry & Mermin. Celinda Lake is a Democratic Party activist famous for spin doctoring and use of NLP in political public relations.

Originally Posted by CountFloyd

Being discussed here:

Needless to say, this poll is bogus, and was conducted way back in March at the behest of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Immigration Forum.

By the way, there is not much difference between the AILA and NIF. AILA is one of the biggest contributors to NIF, along with all the corporations that want globalism.