Voters Put Border Control Ahead of Amnesty by 2-1 Margin
Voters Put Border Control Ahead of Amnesty by 2-1 Margin
Saturday, August 20, 2011
many links on this post
Even as the Obama administration moves to slow the pace of deportation for illegal immigrants, voters continue to believe strongly that gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows that 61% say gaining control of the border is most important when it comes to immigration reform, while 31% say it’s more important to legalize the status of the illegal immigrants who are already here. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
At the same time, 57% of voters agree that the goal of U.S. immigration policy should be to keep out national security threats, criminals and those who would come here to live off our welfare system. Beyond that, all immigrants would be welcome. Twenty-five percent (25%) disagree with this kind of immigration policy. Eighteen percent (18%) are undecided.
Results for both questions have remained consistent in surveys going back to 2006.
Voters are showing less concern that anti-immigration efforts also will end up violating the civil rights of some U.S. citizens, and most continue to oppose automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to illegal immigrants.
The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on August 15-16, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Most Republicans (83%) and voters not affiliated with either political party (63%) say border control is the top priority of any immigration reform effort. A majority (54%) of Democrats say legalizing the status of the illegal immigrants already in this country is more important.
Ninety percent (90%) of Tea Party members put border control first, compared to 53% of non-members.
Most Political Class voters (63%) say legalizing undocumented workers should be the top goal of immigration reform, but 71% of Mainstream voters disagree and say border control should be the priority.
White voters favor border control over legalization by a 65% to 27% margin. But black voters and voters of all other ethnicities are more narrowly divided on the question.
More voters continue to favor tougher laws against employers who hire illegal immigrants than against landlords who rent to them. But support for strong sanctions against both employers and landlords are at record highs.
Voters continue to believe U.S. society is fair and decent, while the number who believes immigrants should adopt American culture hovers around the all-time low.
Sixty-seven percent (67%) of voters think a state should have the right to enforce immigration laws if it believes the federal government is not enforcing them. Most also believe that policies of the federal government encourage illegal immigration.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... 2_1_margin
what about other forms of illegal entry?
At least 40% of Illegals currently get into the country by pretending they are tourists who just want to visit for a short time. They get a legal tourist visa but when it runs out they simply set up housekeeping, and never leave. If we completely close off the Mexican border it will simply mean that the Illegals will switch from the overland rout and use this "visa-overstay" method instead. They would probably even save money since they would not need a coyote and they would avoid the risk of getting robbed or caught by the border guards.
If we want to do something effective that really works to stop the problem of illegals than we have to stop pretending that simplistic answers like Border enforcement is the whole answer. We need such enforcement it is true, but it is only one part of a complete plan. The other parts are: 1) faster and more effective deportation when an Illegal is caught. 2) More workplace enforcement against employers who hire illegals. 3) A strict requirement that any person wanting welfare or any government service provide proof that they are a legal citizen. 4)Empower the states to take whatever measures they deem necessary to exclude and punish Illegals within their jurisdiction. The states are the ones who have to pay the tab when Illegals use welfare services or commit crimes or force legal residents onto unemployment rolls. States are also in the best position to catch illegals and to know if businesses are using Illegal labor.
If loyal Americans are ever going to protect our country and enforce our immigration laws with zero tolerance, then it will be necessary to politically defeat the Mexican and Latino Lobbies. This means we need to get organized politically and we must do it fast before the next election. We need to make sure that any republican candidate that panders to Mexicans or opposes strict measures against Illegals is defeated. That is plain and simple enough and unfortunately, it means that we cannot support Rick Perry. I would be glad to support him because he is a straight talking honest christian and I believe most of what he stands for. But he is soft on Illegals and he has taken money from the Mexican Lobby and also from business interests that profit from illegal workers. He tries to pull the wool over people eyes by talking only about border enforcement. He won't come right out an say that he is ready to do what needs doing with the rest of the package. Maybe he will change his tune on these positions (I wish he would). However, right now it doesn't look good.
