Poll: Legalizing Illegals Will Spur More Immigration

 

Most Americans would prefer to send illegal immigrants back to their home countries rather than give them legal status in this country, a new poll reveals.

The poll by Pulse Opinion Research also found that Americans largely believe that politicians who push for giving illegals a path to citizenship are “pandering” to Hispanic voters.

In the survey of likely voters, divided fairly evenly among Republicans, Democrats, and persons of other affiliations, 52 percent said they wanted illegal immigrants to return to their home countries, while just 33 percent would like to see them receive legal status.

But those who oppose legal status feel much more strongly about their position — 73 percent said they felt “very strongly” about that view, while just 35 percent of those who prefer legal status feel strongly about that.

“One reason the public may prefer that illegals head home is a strong belief that efforts to enforce immigration laws have been inadequate,” according to Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies. He noted that 64 percent of respondents believe enforcement has been “too little,” compared to 10 percent who believe it has been “too much,” and 15 percent who said it is “just right.” The rest were unsure.

The poll also found that 69 percent agree with the statement: “Giving legal status to illegal immigrants does not solve the problem because rewarding law breaking will only encourage more illegal immigration.” Only 26 percent disagree.

Other results of the poll:

  • Asked if they had confidence that immigration laws would be enforced after legalization, 70 percent of respondents said they were not confident.
  • Fifty-three percent of respondents said they would be more likely to vote for a political party that supports enforcing immigration laws, compared to 32 percent who say they would support a party that backs legalizing illegals.
  • Sixty percent believe that politicians who push for legalizing illegal immigrants are pandering to Hispanics to get votes, while just 25 percent think they are “generally concerned” about the immigrants.
  • Twenty-three percent say America needs large numbers of immigrants to fill low-wage jobs because there aren’t enough citizens willing to do them, but nearly three times as many — 67 percent — say there are plenty of Americans willing to do those jobs if employers paid them more and treated them better.
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