Poll: Many say let illegal immigrants stay in US
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This Aug. 15, 2012 file photo shows applicants waiting in Casa de Maryland in Langley Park, Md., before they can apply for the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals, as the U.S. started accepting applications to allow them to avoid deportation and get a work permit _ but not a path to citizenship. More than 6 in 10 Americans now favor allowing illegal immigrants to eventually become U.S. citizens, a major increase in support driven by a turnaround in Republicans' opinion after the 2012 elections. The finding, in a new Associated Press-GfK poll, comes as Republicans seek to increase their meager support among Latino voters, who turned out in large numbers to help-re-elect President Barack Obama in November
WASHINGTON — More than 6 in 10 Americans now favor allowing illegal immigrants to eventually become U.S. citizens, a major increase in support driven by a turnaround in Republicans' opinions after the 2012 elections.
The finding, in a new Associated Press-GfK poll, comes as the Republican Party seeks to increase its meager support among Latino voters, who turned out in large numbers to help-re-elect President Barack Obama in November.
Emboldened by the overwhelming Hispanic backing and by shifting attitudes on immigration, Obama has made overhauling laws about who can legally live in the U.S. a centerpiece of his second-term agenda. In the coming weeks, he's expected to aggressively push for ways to create an eventual pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country.
The poll results suggest that the public overall, not just Hispanics, will back his efforts. Sixty-two percent of Americans now favor providing a way for illegal immigrants in the U.S. to become citizens, an increase from just 50 percent in the summer of 2010, the last time the AP polled on the question.
In an even earlier poll, in 2009, some 47 percent supported a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Further boosting the president on the issue, Democrats have opened a 41 percent to 34 percent advantage as the party more trusted to handle immigration, the first time they've held a significant edge on the matter in AP-GfK polling. In October 2010, Republicans held a slight edge over Democrats, 46 percent to 41 percent, on the question of who was more trusted on immigration.
Much of the increase in support for a path to eventual citizenship has come among Republicans. A majority in the GOP — 53 percent — now favor the change. That's up a striking 22 percentage points from 2010. Seventy-two percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independents like the idea, similar to 2010.
The findings suggest that those GOP lawmakers weighing support for eventual legal status for illegal immigrants could be rewarded politically not just by Democrats and independents but also by some in their own party as well. This comes amid soul-searching in the party about how the GOP can broaden its support with Latinos, who backed Obama over Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, 71 percent to 27 percent, in November. Romney received less support from Latinos than Republican President George W. Bush did. But his slice was on par with candidates Bob Dole in 1996 and George H.W. Bush in 1992.
Some Republicans have concluded that backing comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship is becoming a political necessity. Many lawmakers remain strongly opposed, and it's far from clear whether Congress will ultimately sign off on such an approach. But in the Senate, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is working to draft immigration legislation, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a possible 2016 presidential candidate, has offered proposals that would ultimately allow illegal immigrants to attain legal status.
One poll participant, Nick Nanos, 66, of Bellmore, N.Y., said that providing a way for illegal immigrants to become citizens would respect America's history as a nation built by immigrants.
"We act as if our grandparents got here legally. Don't want to ask a single Indian about that," Nanos said in a follow-up interview. "I don't think that most of us can solidly come to a point where our grandparents or great-grandparents or great-great-grandparents were here legally. What does that even mean?"
Overall, 54 percent in the poll said immigration is an important issue to them personally, a figure that's remained steady over the past couple of years.
Republicans aren't the only group whose views have shifted significantly. In August of 2010, just 39 percent of seniors favored a path to citizenship. Now, 55 percent do. Among those without a college degree, support has increased from 45 percent to 57 percent.
And 59 percent of whites now favor a way for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship, up from 44 percent in August 2010, and 41 percent in September 2009.
Overall, the poll found 35 percent strongly favored allowing illegal immigrants to become citizens over time, while 27 percent favored the idea somewhat. Just 35 percent of Americans opposed the approach, with 23 percent strongly opposed and 12 percent somewhat opposed. That compared with 48 percent opposed in 2010 and 50 percent in 2009.
The poll also found strong support for Obama's decision, announced last summer, to shield as many as 800,000 immigrants from deportation with conditions. Those affected would have to be younger than 30, would have to have been brought to the U.S. before turning 16 and would have to fulfill certain other conditions including graduation from high school or serving in the military. Illegal immigrants covered by the order now can apply for work permits. The order bypassed Congress, which has not passed "DREAM Act" legislation to achieve some of the same goals for younger illegal immigrants.
Sixty-three percent of Americans favor that policy, while 20 percent oppose it and 17 percent are in between or unsure, the poll said. The policy is supported by 76 percent of Democrats, significantly more than among Republicans (48 percent) or independents (59 percent).
Cordel Welch, 41, of Los Angeles, was among those poll participants who believes illegal immigrants brought to the country as children should be treated differently from people who came here as adults.
"The ones that were brought here by their parents, they're already here, they're already established," Welch said in an interview. "The adults should go through the process."
Melissa Johnson, 40, of Porter, Texas, disagreed.
"I think there were generations of people that came over here legally, and just because your parents snuck you in or snuck in while pregnant with you doesn't give you automatic citizenship," she said. "I think they should send them all back home."
The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted Jan. 10-14, 2013, by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,004 adults nationwide. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points; the margin is larger for subgroups.
Jan 23, 2013 at 10:41 a.m.
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Pasta -- so what is your position/arguement? That if only 1/2 pay the taxes then the whole argement is incorrect? How about we ammend the discussion point to Illegal aliens underpay their fair share of taxes. The result is the same. There are a significant amount of taxes not being withheld or collected, be that income taxes, SS taxes, Medicare etc.... My guess is that they are still recieveing medical care and we are paying for that through higher rates at the healthcare providers.
In the end -- we have 23 million under employed or unemployed. We have 10-20 millions illegals..... It sounds to me as though we can easily fill the gap should the illegals return to their country of origin. Once they are gone -- should the employers require more employees than the market can provide -- it will drive wages up, it should drive legal immigration up as well.
The arguement to not require illegals to apply in order to stay is rediculous. It hurts those that have applied by legal means and further encourages illegal immigration.
Jan 23, 2013 at 10:39 a.m.
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Pastafarian, so they have something in common with legal citizens we all contribute and will never see SS either. At least us under 50 years of age anyway.
Jan 23, 2013 at 10:27 a.m.
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I don't think they're getting SS chelleandlou. As a matter of fact, they contribute Billions a year that they will never see. 11,000,000,000 in 2007 alone.
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld...
Jan 23, 2013 at 9:07 a.m.
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Putting a green stamp of approval is suppose to sidetrack the fact that current laws are not enforced.
Jan 23, 2013 at 8:31 a.m.
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I have no problem with the illegals getting in line and filling out the applications. However, I do believe that as applications are reviewed that we should be taking into consideration that the initially entered the US illegally. If they are not approved -- they must leave. Simple. I also believe they would only be considered after all legal immigranst have been considered. They get in line at the back.
Jan 23, 2013 at 8:04 a.m.
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This is a tough one I am all for people coming here legally and wanting to contribute and become legal. However we have around 11 million who are here illegally, to just gloss over that and put them into the same category as those that have done it properly seems a bit ignorant, we did that once in 1986, didn't help a thing in fact it gave more incentive to people willing to break laws to get here. We in Wisconsin may not see the negative effects of illegal immigration but the states in the Southwest are impacted big time, that cannot be overlooked, many large urban areas in Arizona, Nevada and California spend millions in infrastructure in order to support illegal immigration. I am not opposed to the current ideas by Rubio and Obama, I just fear they are a bit shortsided like the Reagan amnesty of 1986 was.
Jan 23, 2013 at 8:04 a.m.
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The greatest danger to our Nation is a government that ignores the Constitution. We have laws on the books that not supposed to allow illegals in the Country. So what are we saying let's not enforce are laws. They come here illegally they are committing a crime first of all. Second I do not want my tax dollars funding illegals, nor do I want them getting assistance for the government because of the way our economy is right now and the fact we don't have enough jobs to go around. So you don't like it don't be coming here illegally. to our politicians you took and oath that says to preserve protect and defend the constitution of the United States politicians you need to do your duty and enforce our laws or come next election time will elect someone who will enforce our laws.
Jan 23, 2013 at 7:52 a.m.
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If they are here illegally they should have to leave and enter legally. It is NOT okay for them to remain here. They obtain benefits from food pantries, housing assistance, social security, welfare, and other social programs which isn't right. Anyone who is housing, hiring, or in any way assisting illegal immigrants should also be sanctioned. What message do we send the world if we say "let them stay" come illegally we don't care we won't send you back? That's baloney!
Jan 23, 2013 at 6:52 a.m.
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Poll: Many more say get the h*** out and come back legally....
Jan 23, 2013 at 6:08 a.m.
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Come here the right way or get out
We should not let those stay here that do not obey the law to start with
Jan 23, 2013 at 6:06 a.m.
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I couldnt care less if they come here illegally, I just dont want to be funding them. There are "many" that say let them stay, there are also "many" on welfare and dont have to pay for them. Im sick of the hardest working people in this country getting the shortest end of the stick.
Jan 23, 2013 at 2:55 a.m.
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As illegal immigrants become a larger percentage of our population, a larger percentage of our population thinks we should let them stay. I wonder who made a million dollars to make that brilliant conclusion.
Jan 23, 2013 at 1:45 a.m.
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patriotsal - remember, WE are supplying the Mexicans with guns (Operation Fast and Fatal, er... Fast and Furious). If we tighten up our gun laws, then Mexico can start supplying us with guns, just like they do illegal drugs.
Since tighter laws seem to bring more problems, perhaps the answer to illegal Mexicans is to reduce the barriers to Canadian immigration and let a flood of Canadian illegals into this country. Simple economic pressures with undocumented Canucks competing for off-the-books jobs will do the rest. We can raise public awareness by adopting Monty Python's "Lumberjack Song" for a public relations campaign.
Canuck:
I'm undocumented - I'm ok,
I sleep all night and I work all day.
INS:
He's undocumented - he's ok,
He sleeps all night and he works all day.
Canuck:
I used to chop trees - but that's not green,
I go to the lavatory.
I wanted to build a pipeline,
But Barack said 'twas not to be.
INS:
He used to chop trees - but that's not green,
He goes to the lavatory.
He wanted to build a pipeline,
But Barack said 'twas not to be.
He's undocumented - but he's ok,
He sleeps all night and he works all day.
Canuck:
I work for cash - no W-2,
No "benny" costs for me.
My English is better than yours - and,
"Je parle bien oui oui".
INS:
He works for cash - no W-2,
No "benny" costs for him.
His English is better than yours - and,
"Son français est très bien!"
Jan 23, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
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metromilton, I think we should just have the same immigration laws that mexico has. seems fair to me. But then again, look what their strict gun laws have done for them.
Jan 23, 2013 at 12:50 a.m.
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Funny how so many pick and choose what laws they think are worth following. Either we are a nation of laws or we aren't. The idea that many laws are not enforced or outright ignored has many issues. If the laws are not needed remove them from the books. If they are wrong change them. But to pick and choose ones that should be followed while complaining about wanting more laws is disingenuous.
Jan 22, 2013 at 11:05 p.m.
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Amen!
Jan 22, 2013 at 11:03 p.m.
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wisconsinheat, I'd rather not attempt to assign motives to those Republicans who have evolved to support comprehensive immigration reform that include pathways to citizenship for those people already here. I'm just pleased they have evolved their position, much as President Obama did on same sex marriage, and hope that with their support we will see some significant changes in immigration law.
Jan 22, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.
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Janesvillean; "that keeps our supply of young working age adults stable."
Last I knew, one of the biggest problems facing The US is unemployment. How is adding to our supply of working age adults going to help that?
Right now we are depending on Mexico for our national security as the border between the US and Mexico is paper thin. Hopefully Mexico is keeping terrorists out of their country because if they get in there, its an open door to the US. We need to keep anyone out of our country unless they get here legally.
Jan 22, 2013 at 10:10 p.m.
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poobah wrote ""A majority in the GOP — 53 percent — now favor the change. That's up a striking 22 percentage points from 2010."
I congratulate and thank those Republicans who have evolved to the right side of history with their support of a comprehensive immigration policy that provides a pathway to citizenship for those people already in the country."
Hmmm...did it ever occur to you that perhaps the GOP finally realized that without this demographic they are doomed to be wondering "what happened" after every election? A pandering bunch they are.
They are slow learners but hey, they set the bar low for themselves.
Jan 22, 2013 at 9:46 p.m.
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What part of illegal are we not comprehending here??? There are plenty of LEGAL (and much safer!!) ways to enter this country and become a productive citizen.
Maybe the INS needs to take a few pointers from North Korea. They do not tolerate illegal immigrants there.....ever.
Jan 22, 2013 at 9:38 p.m.
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patriotsal....I will give you the opportunity to provide a source for this statement of yours "how many people know that those who come here legally don't pay federal taxes for years? Legally don't pay federal taxes?" before I call you ignorant.
Jan 22, 2013 at 9:32 p.m.
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The absolute worst thing we could do is to waive the existing laws and give these lawbreakers amnesty. All an amnesty would do is further set a precident for the next generation of border jumpers. They would realize how weak the US is in enforcing its own laws. They would know for certain that all they would have to do is elude the law for a few years and the bleeding heart liberals in the US would cave in and let them stay.
Jan 22, 2013 at 9:20 p.m.
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No amnesty- no pathways to citizenship, no nothing till we have secured the border, eliminated automatic citizenship to babies born here of illegal parents, and made English the only official language of this country. also, end the tax credit for immigrants - how many people know that those who come here legally don't pay federal taxes for years? Legally don't pay federal taxes? For those who don't think there are many immigrants, legal and illegal who wont learn English, I can tell you my experience as a nurse in Jefferson/Rock and Walworth counties tells a different story. And I'm not just talking hispanic immigrants. Not to mention 'south of the border' in Illinois. There are communities there where English is the foreign language. When we have achieved these goals, then we could talk about some way of legalizing those with NO OTHER criminal history.
Jan 22, 2013 at 8:24 p.m.
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"A majority in the GOP — 53 percent — now favor the change. That's up a striking 22 percentage points from 2010."
I congratulate and thank those Republicans who have evolved to the right side of history with their support of a comprehensive immigration policy that provides a pathway to citizenship for those people already in the country.
Jan 22, 2013 at 6:51 p.m.
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Lets face it..many are threatened by diversity and other cultures and languages. Since the conception of our country many have feverishly worked against a pluralistic society which in my view only adds different perspectives to our understanding of differing values, customs, beliefs, religion, language, dress, and norms.
Our nation in the past yanked Native American children to rid the "native characteristics" out of them through forced assimilation just because white men thought their differences were inherently bad.
Jan 22, 2013 at 6:35 p.m.
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Immigration has positive benefits for the United States. Many developed countries are seeing birth rates falling near or even below replacement levels, and countries like Russia and Italy are already seeing the beginnings of decline as a result. The US native birth rate is below replacement; it is only immigration, and the higher birth rate of recent immigrants, that keeps our supply of young working age adults stable.
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Obviously some things are "illegal" simply as a definition of law. That does not make them immoral or wrong. We don't execute people for jaywalking, and we don't have to deport people for crossing the border without papers, let alone treat them as criminals.
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The idea that immigrants are refusing to learn English is essentially ludicrous. They have strong economic reasons for learning English. Adult immigrants, however, are past the age at which it is easy to learn and become fluent in a new language. They struggle, but why their struggle is something that gets people angry doesn't make a whole lot of sense. In almost all cases their children born here will be fluent English speakers and assist them as necessary.
Jan 22, 2013 at 6:24 p.m.
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Speaking of learning our language....
I kid, I kid!
The thing is, we don't have an official language. I don't have a problem with people who come here and cannot speak English. Most know more English than they let on. Further, as someone who has traveled to several foreign countries, I know how intimidating it can be to try to speak a foreign language among locals, even if you thought you were prepared. Finally, sometimes our best communication is not even conveyed by what we say, but by how we carry ourselves.
Jan 22, 2013 at 6:20 p.m.
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I've always wondered with the U.S. getting involved with so many other countries issues, why they haven't dealt/helped Mexico, which I feel would be beneficial to our country. As for becoming citizens, I know quite a few young adults that didn't have any control on coming here, as they were minors and came with their parents. They have jobs and are doing well here. To send them back to Mexico would be cruel at this point since they no little of the ways of life there and would be thought of as outsiders in their own so-called land.
Jan 22, 2013 at 4:59 p.m.
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I have no problem with anyone becoming an American citizen,but the ways they came here,was illegal,for me all would be forgiven,but they,or anyone that wants to live here,MUST,learn & speak out language,abide by our laws,work & not be a burden to me or my country,and the ones that can't o bide by our laws,and learn to speak our tongue,should not be here,i live in America,i should not have to press 1# for English on my phone,if i lived in there country,i would expect myself to learn that language!
Many of them have been here long enough to speak our language,even the slaves learned to read & write,if there's a will there's a way!!
Another idea i have had,i think we should make Mexico our 51 state,clean it up & get rid of all the drug dealers that control that land,like killing 2 birds with one stone???
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