Gallup Poll Reveals Americans Favor Reduced Immigration

A new Gallup Poll reveals that more Americans are favoring lower immigration numbers as compared to this time last year. Fifty percent of Americans believe that immigration numbers should be reduced from their current rate of more than 1 million immigrants per year, while only 14 percent think that number should be increased.

Last year, only 39 percent of Americans thought immigration levels should be lowered, so the new numbers reveal a significant shift in the attitude of Americans. Also last year, 39 percent felt that immigration numbers should stay the same, but the recent numbers show that only 32 percent feel the numbers should stay at their current level.

Democrats, Independents and Republicans all agreed that immigration numbers should be lowered. The overwhelming percentage of Republicans (61%) feel the numbers should be lowered compared to 46 percent of Independents and 44 percent of Democrats.

All four geographic regions also agree that immigration numbers should be reduced with the largest number in favor of lower numbers in the South (54%).

For full results of the poll, see Gallup.com.

www.numbersusa.com

We need your HELP!

Focus on these Sellout Republicans Supporting La Raza
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... 954#934954

My comment on Sen. Schumers immigration report card:

Dear Senator, you are failing to uphold your oath of office by choosing to represent Illegal Aliens above actual American Citizens!

Please see source for accompanying tables and graphs.

August 5, 2009

Americans Return to Tougher Immigration Stance

More want immigration decreased than kept the same or increased

by Lymari Morales

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With some U.S. lawmakers and immigration rights activists stepping up calls for the Obama administration to pursue immigration reform, Gallup finds Americans less favorable toward immigration than they were a year ago. Half (50%) say immigration should be decreased, up from 39% last year. A third (32%) say immigration levels should be kept the same, down from 39%, and 14% say they should be increased, down from 18%.

The most recent results, from a Gallup survey conducted July 10-12, 2009, mark a return to the attitudes that prevailed in the first few years after 9/11; attitudes softened from 2006 to last year. The shift toward a tougher stance this time around may reflect the country's economic situation, as Americans tend to become less pro-immigration during difficult economic times.

A similar shift is evident when Americans are asked more broadly whether immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for the country. Currently, 58% say it is a good thing -- the lowest percentage saying so since 2003. The historical low for this measure, 52%, came in 2002, after the 9/11 attacks.

The latest Gallup findings preceded a letter that was circulated Monday by seven Illinois congressmen, aimed at urging the Obama administration to take up immigration reform this year. Immigrant activist groups have been eager for reform since a Bush administration bill was defeated in the Senate in 2007.

While these Gallup data do not specifically ask about proposals that might be included in comprehensive immigration reform, they do suggest that Americans of all political persuasions are taking a tougher stance toward immigration than they did a year ago. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to want immigration decreased, as has typically been the case, but more than 4 in 10 independents and Democrats share this view.

The 61% of Republicans who now say they would like to see immigration decreased is up from 46% in 2008. At the same time, the 46% of Democrats and 44% of independents who would like to see immigration decreased represent shifts in the same direction, up from the 39% and 37%, respectively, who said the same in 2008.

There are slight variations in views on immigration across the four major regions of the country. Americans in the South (54%) are the most likely to want immigration decreased, while those in the West (44%) are relatively less likely to say the same. Here again, each group has shifted toward a more anti-immigration stance.

Bottom Line

Americans have returned to a tougher stance on immigration than has been evident for the past few years. Republicans, in particular, have shifted most strongly toward decreasing immigration, with Democrats and independents moving in the same direction, but to a lesser degree. Thus, as lawmakers consider when and how to pursue immigration reform, they should do so mindful that Americans of all political persuasions are generally more resistant to immigration in broad measure than they were a year ago.

Author's note: While the views of Hispanics are important to debate and discussion about immigration, the sample size of Hispanics in the poll is not large enough to allow for meaningful interpretation.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,018 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted July 10-12, 2009. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a land-line telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell-phone only).

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/122057/Ameri ... tance.aspx

Biased response which also makes no distinction between highly skilled workers employed under programs like H-1B Visas and masses of unskilled laborers. Graph at source.

Richard Florida

Creative Class Exchange

Aug 5 2009, 5:36PM

Business

The Immigration Question

American attitudes toward immigration are hardening, according to a new Gallup poll. Half of all Americans say immigration should be "decreased" - up 11 points from 39 percent last year.

Anti-immigration sentiment is growing across all major political groupings. Some 61 percent of Republicans say they would like to see immigration decreased, up from 46 percent in 2008, compared to 46 percent of Democrats, up from 39 percent; and 44 percent of Independents, up from 37 percent.

Southerners show the greatest anti-immigration sentiment with 54 percent saying they would like to see immigration decreased, followed by easterners (51 percent), midwesterners (48 percent), and westerners (44 percent).

The poll also saw a shift in American attitudes toward whether "immigration is a good or a bad thing for the country" with more than a third (36 percent) saying it is a bad thing.

Gallup notes that this marks "a return to the attitudes that prevailed in the first few years after 9/11."

Immigration in America has gone in great cycles over the past century or two. While immigration has typically fallen during economic crises, the U.S. has prospered from its relative openness to global talent. America saw an influx of leading scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, and musicians during the Great Depression which helped bolster its position at the frontiers of science, technology, entrepreneurship, and the arts during the long post-war boom.

Economic crises are transformative periods when talent flows can be reset and countries and regions rise and decline. The future belongs to those countries and regions that can attract the best and brightest across the entire world.

Growing anti-immigrant sentiment, should it continue, is bad news for American technology, entrepreneurship, and the economy in general. Let's hope it turns around.

http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/r ... estion.php

It won't make any difference. It won't matter if 100 percent of Americans agreed with us. The politicians don't care and will side with these criminals no matter what. Nothing will change until they are all voted out of office.