AP-GfK Poll: Majority Says Send Illegals Home ASAP
Tuesday, 29 Jul 2014 04:54 PM
newsmax
By: CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
For nearly two months, images of immigrant children who have crossed the border without a parent, only to wind up in concrete holding cells once in United States, have tugged at heartstrings. Yet most Americans now say U.S. law should be changed so they can be sent home quickly, without a deportation hearing.
A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds two-thirds of Americans now say illegal immigration is a serious problem for the country, up 14 points since May and on par with concern about the issue in May 2010, when Arizona's passage of a strict anti-immigration measure brought the issue to national prominence.
Nearly two-thirds, 62 percent, say immigration is an important issue for them personally, a figure that's up 10 points since March. President Barack Obama's approval rating for his handling of immigration dropped in the poll, with just 31 percent approving of his performance on the issue, down from 38 percent in May.
More than 57,000 unaccompanied immigrant children have illegally entered the country since October. Most of the children hail from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, where gang violence is pervasive. Many are seeking to reunite with a parent already living in the United States.
Since initially calling the surge an "urgent humanitarian situation" in early June, Obama has pressed Central American leaders to stem the flow and has asked Congress for $3.7 billion in new money to hire more immigration judges, build more detention space and process children faster.
House Republicans on Tuesday put forward a bill costing $659 million through the final two months of the fiscal year that would send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and allow authorities to deport children more quickly.
By a 2-to-1 margin, Americans oppose the current process for handling unaccompanied minors crossing the border, which requires that those who are not from Mexico or Canada stay in the U.S. and receive a hearing before a judge before they can be deported. Changing the law to allow all children crossing illegally to be sent back without such a hearing drew support from 51 percent of those polled.
Obama's proposal for emergency funding, in comparison, was favored by 32 percent and opposed by 38 percent.
Santiago Moncada, a 65-year-old Austin resident who is retired from a state human resources job, said he had considered both proposals and ultimately believes the children need to be deported.
"My heart goes out to them," said Moncada, a political independent originally from the border city of Eagle Pass. "It needs to be done only because we need to send a message saying our borders are closed. You need to apply for citizenship. You need to apply to come to the United States. You can't just cross the border illegally.
"My problem is, 'Who's going to take care of them?'" Moncada said. "There comes a time when we have to say enough is enough."
Moncada, however, does support creating a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million immigrants who already entered the country illegally. He said many are contributing and should be given a way to become citizens.
A majority of Americans still support such a path to citizenship, though that has slipped to 51 percent from 55 percent in May. Strong opposition to that proposal grew to 25 percent in the new poll from 19 percent in May.
Patricia Thompson's life has intersected in myriad ways with immigration over the years. She was living in South Florida when thousands of Cubans crossed the Florida Straits fleeing communism. Her son helped build part of the border fence near San Diego with the National Guard. And as an assistant professor of nursing and a college student adviser for four decades, she counseled many immigrant students.
In some cases, those students had been brought to the U.S. illegally as children by their parents, said Thompson, 76, who recently relocated to Florence, Alabama, from Little Rock, Arkansas.
"Those kids certainly deserve an immigration chance," Thompson said, adding that that issue needs to be resolved before the country moves on to another. For the unaccompanied children crossing the border more recently, Thompson said they should be sent back.
"We've got to stop this," said Thompson, who identified herself as a Republican, but said she thought highly of some of Democratic governors in Arkansas. "We can't take care of the whole world."
The poll found that most people — 53 percent — believe the U.S. does not have a moral obligation to offer asylum to people fleeing violence or political persecution. And 52 percent say the children entering the U.S. illegally who say they are fleeing gang violence in Central America should not be treated as refugees.
Eric Svien, 57, a political independent who said he leans conservative, works on the investment side of a bank near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Immigration is not his biggest concern. It ranks somewhere behind reform of the tax code, which he said should be the priority. He said the idea of a moral obligation is a "slippery slope."
"I think we've probably been too open in that regard. I think at this point in time when your country's resources get strained to the point or you just can't be the caretaker of the world and you've got to draw the line somewhere," he said. "Where that line gets drawn I hesitate to say ... That might be one spot where we have to say enough is enough."
The AP-GfK Poll was conducted July 24-28, 2014 using KnowledgePanel, GfK's probability-based online panel designed to be representative of the U.S. population. It involved online interviews with 1,044 adults, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for all respondents.
Respondents were first selected randomly using phone or mail survey methods, and were later interviewed online. People selected for KnowledgePanel who didn't otherwise have access to the Internet were provided with the ability to access the Internet at no cost to them.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/ap-.../29/id/585622/
BORDER CRISIS POLL: PUBLIC TURNS AGAINST OBAMA, DEMOCRATS & MEDIA
BORDER CRISIS POLL: PUBLIC TURNS AGAINST OBAMA, DEMOCRATS & MEDIA
http://cdn.breitbart.com/mediaserver...pg%201%201.jpg
by JOHN NOLTE
30 Jul 2014, 11:43 AM PDT
A new AP-GfK polls is all around bad news for President Obama, Democrats, and a mainstream media determined to push his amnesty agenda. Not only is public approval souring towards Obama's handling of the issue and the idea of a path to citizenship for illegals and the policy of offering asylum for this wave of Central American children, a plurality now see the Republican Party as better able to handle the issue of immigration.
When asked about the President's handling of the immigration issue, only 31% said they approve while a whopping 68% disapprove. That's a 14 point shift against the president since the middle of May, when he sat at 38% approve, 60% disapprove.When asked which party is better able to handle the immigration issue, Republicans win a plurality of 29% compared to 25% for Democrats. Back in May, Democrats led on this question, 29% - 23%. That's a 10 point flip in favor of the GOP.
On the question of whether the United States has a "moral obligation to offer asylum to people who come to the U.S. to escape violence or political persecution," only 44% said yes, while a clear majority of 53% said no.
What might be moving public opinion against the president and the media is a big jump in how serious the public now sees illegal immigration as a problem. While Obama plays golf, fundraises, drinks champagne with celebrities, and takes lavish vacations, the percentage of Americans who see illegal immigration as a "serious problem" jumped 14 points to 67%.
The president is taking pride in not taking seriously a problem that over two-thirds of Americans do see as serious. While Americans see chaos, the president hollers "fore," and the media cheer him on.
The most troubling number for Democrats and the media will undoubtedly be the drop in the number of Americans who favor a path to citizenship for illegals. In just 10 weeks, support has dropped from 55% to just 51%. Opposition has jumped 4 points to 46%. There's no question that the ongoing chaos at our Southern border has moved the public 8 full points away from a position held by Democrats and the media.
On the question of allowing Central American children under the age of 18 to be housed in America to await a deportation hearing, only 20% favor; a plurality of 43% oppose.
A plurality of 38% also oppose more spending to handle the crisis; only 32% favor.
Finally, a majority of 51% want the law changed so that Central American children will be deported immediately. A mere 18% want the law to stay as is (housed until a deportation hearing).
As far as the blame the mainstream media wants to lay at the feet of the GOP for not passing immigration reform, that propaganda push has failed miserably. Only 44% blame the GOP, while 38% blame Obama and 36% blame Democrats.
If you are wondering why the media have all but stopped reporting on a crisis at our very own doorstep and instead focused on crises overseas, this poll is the answer. The more people learn about the border crisis, the more it works against the left's agenda.
Despite the wishes of the federal government and a mainstream media that sees its role as making those wishes come true, through original reporting, New Media has driven the facts of the border crisis home for an American public eager to know the truth.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...emocrats-media
