House of Paine

borderline polling

money quote:


" Support for a guest-worker program
 is especially low among minority Democrats
 without college degrees —
 some of the people who might face
 the greatest competition for jobs
 from such a program."




the whole smeer"


WASHINGTON — Most Americans 
say the United States should confront
the challenge of illegal immigration
 by both toughening border enforcement
 and creating a new guest-worker program
 rather than stiffening enforcement alone,



By a solid 2-1 margin, 
those surveyed said they would prefer
 such a comprehensive approach,
 which a bipartisan group of senators
 has proposed, to an enforcement-only strategy,
 which the House of Representatives 
approved in December. 
Support for a comprehensive approach 
was about the same among Democrats,
 independents and Republicans,
 the poll found.

  

Still, Americans showed 
markedly less enthusiasm 
for allowing guest workers
 to flow into the United States 
in the future than they did 
for proposals to permit 
the estimated 11 million to 12 million
 illegal immigrants already here
 to remain legally


. And even some of those who rejected efforts
 to remove the illegal immigrants
 already in the U.S.
 made clear in interviews 
that their opposition was based more
 on practical than philosophical objections.


 registered voters





The impasse in Washington 
over restructuring immigration laws
 has led many to predict 
the issue could become a flashpoint 
in this year's election.

 But the public does not yet
 seem impassioned about the controversy:
 Although 84% of poll respondents agreed
 that illegal immigration was a problem,
 31% identified it as one 
of the country's major problems.

The idea that drew the most support
 in the survey
 was allowing illegal immigrants 
who had been living and working in the U.S.
 to obtain visas to work here legally,
 and to move toward citizenship 
if they met a list of requirements.

Two-thirds of those polled
 said they supported such a proposal.

 about one-fifth of those responding
 rejected such ideas.

Two centerpieces of the House immigration legislation
 fared less well
, though they attracted more support 
than opposition: 
42% of those surveyed said 
they supported measures 
to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border
 and brand illegal immigrants as felons,
 whereas 35% opposed such measures.

After hearing all the alternatives,
 63% said Congress should blend enforcemen
 with a guest-worker program,
 as Bush and many senators in both parties want, 
whereas 30% said Congress should focus on enforcement only,
 as many House Republican leaders prefer.


 Among whites, an underlying class division 
ran through several of the questions.
 The GOP enforcement provisions 
drew much more support from whites 
without a college degree
 than those with advanced education.

Conversely, a guest-worker program 
was notably more popular among college-educated whites 
than among those without college degrees,
 who could face more direct economic competition 
from the importation of such workers.



Those class fissures help explain 
a surprising result: 
that Democrats are less enthusiastic
 than Republicans about proposals
 to create a guest-worker program
 or to legalize illegal immigrants 
— ideas supported much more in Washington 
by Democratic than Republican leaders.

Support for the legalization of illegal immigrants 
is notably higher among independents (71%)
 and Republicans (67%) than Democrats (59%).

 The guest-worker program also drew more support
 among independents (60%) and Republicans (56%)
 than Democrats (48%).

Part of the reason for the disparity
 is that non-college voters,
 who are most skeptical of the idea,
 constitute a larger share of Democrats 
than Republicans.

 The larger reason is that Democratic voters 
without a college education 
are much more skeptical 
about those ideas than Republicans 
of similar education levels.

For instance, although 54% of Republicans 
without a college degree 
support a program to import guest workers,
 just 38% of such Democrats do.

 Support for a guest-worker program
 is especially low among minority Democrats
 without college degrees —
 some of the people who might face
 the greatest competition for jobs
 from such a program.

.Among all adults

Do you support or oppose the following immigration proposals:

Create a guest-worker program 
that would give a temporary visa
 to noncitizens who want to legally work in the U.S.

Support: 54%

Oppose: 21%

Don't know: 25%

*

Allow undocumented immigrants who have been living and working in the U.S. for a number of years, with no criminal record, to start a path to citizenship.

Support: 66%

Oppose: 18%

Don't know: 16%

*

Fence off hundreds of miles of the border between the U.S. and Mexico and make it a felony to enter illegally.

Support: 42%

Oppose: 35%

Don't know: 23%
Among all adults

--
--


Q: When it comes to immigration laws, do you prefer an approach that solely focuses on tougher enforcement or one that includes both tougher enforcement and a guest-worker program?

Tougher enforcement and a guest-worker program: 63%

Only tougher enforcement: 30%

Don't know: 7%

--

*


Will be best on immigration issues

Democrats: 29%

Republicans: 26%

neither: 22%