Americans Have Spoken: Cut Back On Immigration

AMERICANS HAVE SPOKEN:
Cut Back On Immigration

A national consensus on immigration is clear from the wide range of polls on the issue over the past several years: By overwhelming margins, Americans want to cut back drastically on immigration—not bring in new immigrants or legalize those who are already here illegally.

Limiting immigration has the overwhelming support of most Americans, regardless of party affiliation or race.

HERE'S WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT IMMIGRATION.

• 65% of voters favor stopping all immigration into the U.S. during the war on terrorism. (Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, October 31-November 1, 2001)

• 92% of voters favor “imposing stricter immigration and border crossing polices.” (Fox News poll, September 19-20, 2001)

• 84% of Americans support tighter restrictions on immigration. (McPheters & Company and Beta Research, November 2001)

• 77% think the government is not doing enough “to control the border and to screen people allowed into the country.” (Zogby International, September 15-16, 2001)

• 85% strongly/somewhat agree “that enforcement of immigration laws and the border has been too lax and has made it easier for the terrorists to enter.” (Zogby International, September 15-16, 2001)

• 72% think that “a dramatic increase in resources devoted to border control and enforcement of immigration laws would help reduce the chances of future terrorist attacks.” (Zogby International, September 15-16, 2001)

• Six in ten Americans support reducing legal immigration levels. (CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, October 2001)

• 77% of respondents in a CNN poll opposed granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. (CNN, July 2001)

• 53% of Americans said the number of legal immigrants allowed into the U.S. should be decreased. Only 6% wanted to see it increased. (Wirthlin Worldwide, June 1997)

• 41% of Republicans and 45% of Democrats support stopping legal immigration altogether. (Gallup poll, October 2000)

• 72% of Americans think immigration should be reduced, according to a Wall St. Journal/NBC December 1996 poll.

• A Roper poll in January 1996 found that 83% of Americans favor a lower immigration level. 70% favor restricting immigration to less than 300,000 new immigrants a year (including 70% of Republicans, 73% of African-Americans, and 52% of Hispanics). Most want even larger cuts: 54% favor an immigration level of below 100,000 a year. 20% support no immigration at all.

• The same Roper poll found that a large majority (75%) supports strong laws to identify and deport illegal immigrants. Only 10% disagree with strict laws against the removal of illegal immigrants. The strongest supporters of tough measures against illegal immigrants are self-styled political moderates (78%), strongly religious (76%), whites (77%), Protestants (82%), and Midwesterners (85%). 76% of Democrats, 76% of Republicans, 78% of self-described middle-of-the-roaders, and 60% of Hispanics (English-speaking) also support tough laws against illegal immigrants.

• 52% of all Americans favor a five-year ban on all legal and illegal immigration to the U.S., including 54% of all Republicans and 48% of all Democrats. (Wall St. Journal/NBC, March 1996)

• 50% favor a law that would stop all legal immigration into the U.S. for the next five years. (Gallup, April 1996)

• 63% of Americans think immigration levels are too high, including 66% of Republicans and 60% of Democrats. (CBS News/New York Times, September 1995)

• 62% of Americans think immigration levels should be decreased, 27% think the present levels should remain, and 12% say they should be increased. (CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, July 1995)

HISPANIC ATTITUDES TOWARD IMMIGRATION

Some lawmakers are particularly concerned with the attitudes of Hispanics on the immigration issue. Polls show that Hispanic Americans, like all Americans, support cutbacks in immigration.

• 89% of Hispanic Americans strongly support an immediate moratorium on immigration. 74% feel fewer immigrants should be allowed and stronger restrictions should be enforced. (Hispanic USA Research Group, June 1993)

• Hispanics favor reducing immigration by a margin of 53% to 35% in Texas, 48% to 40% in New York, and 47% to 39% in Florida. Rudolfo de la Garza, a University of Texas at Austin professor and one of the directors of the study, said: “U.S born Mexican-Americans believe that they suffer a lower quality of services because of the excess demand on them generated by the immigrants.” (Tomas Rivera Center, March 1996)

• 43% of Hispanics nationwide think the government is not doing enough to stop illegal immigration. The more established Hispanics are in the United States, the more likely they are to think the government is not doing enough to curb illegal immigration. 37% of foreign-born Hispanics believe not enough is being done; that belief increases to 45% of first-generation Hispanics and half of second-generation Hispanics. (San Jose Mercury News, October 2000)

STATES

CALIFORNIA

• 82% of Californians believe that the projected population growth during the next 20 years will make the state a less desirable place to live. Over 80% of California’s growth is due to immigration. (Public Policy Institute of California, May 2001)

• 50% of California voters oppose granting amnesty to illegal immigrants, versus 34% who favor it. (Zogby, April 2001)

COLORADO

• 68% of Colorado voters say overpopulation is a major problem in Colorado. Only 2% of voters believe that the state needs to expand its population at all, yet the state is projected to increase its population by 67%, from 4.3 million today to 6.4 million in 25 years. 61% want the federal government to lower immigration levels to reduce the environmental impact and development pressures on communities across the nation. (Ridder/Braden, March 2001)

FLORIDA

• 58% of Florida voters favor making legal immigration more difficult. 71% favor the U.S. government spending more time and money to prevent illegal immigration into the U.S., including more than 40% of Hispanics. (Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times, October 1999)

• 59% of Florida voters believe current immigration levels are too high. Almost two thirds (63%) of voters agree that “immigration levels are out of control and we need to reduce the number of immigrants we allow into the country.” A majority of voters (52%) said they would be more likely to endorse a candidate who supported immigration reduction as part of his or her campaign. 76% feel that "Continued population growth is a threat to Florida’s resource base, environmental health, and quality of life.” (The Polling Company, September 1999)

GEORGIA

• 69% believe that the quality of life in the state will deteriorate if current growth and population trends continue. 74% are concerned about the level of immigration to the U.S. 79% are specifically concerned about the level of immigration to Georgia. 61% oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants. (Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, July 2001)

IOWA

• 62% of Iowans feel that the U.S. should lower its current level of immigration. 65% feel that a U.S. population of 400 million in 2050, as projected by the U.S. Census Bureau, is too large. (Personal Marketing Research, December 1999)

KANSAS

• 86% of Kansans say levels of immigration into the U.S. are a “serious” or “very serious” problem. (Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, April 2001)

MARYLAND

• 68% of Maryland voters are concerned about the current level of immigration to the state, and 58% want the federal government to lower immigration levels to reduce development pressures on the environment. 61% think overpopulation in Maryland is a major problem. (Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, July 2000)

• Two-thirds of adults in rural southern Maryland say the place where they live is growing too fast. Frustration with crowded roads is mounting, and nearly two-thirds want strict new limits on development. (Washington Post poll, March 1998)

MICHIGAN

• 52% of Michigan voters say legal immigration levels should be decreased, 41% say they should remain at present levels, and 4% say they should increase. (Hill Research Consultants, May 1997)

NEW JERSEY

• 82% of New Jersey residents say that illegal immigration is an important problem facing the country. 39% say it is one of the most important problems. (Asbury Park Press/Home News & Tribune, January 1996)

TEXAS

• 82% of Texans see illegal immigration as a serious problem (including 86% of Caucasians and 69% of Hispanics), and 61% say the federal government is not doing enough to stop it. (Scripps Howard Texas Poll, October 1997)

VIRGINIA

• 73% consider the pace of population growth to be an urgent problem, with 60% saying it threatens quality of life in the state. 70% say they are concerned about the level of immigration to Virginia, and 57% say they would be more likely to support a candidate for Congress who supported a reduction in national immigration levels. (Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, July 2000)

Also available:

• Special Report: Immigration and U.S. Population Growth