A new poll jointly conducted by Hart Research, a Democratic polling firm and Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican outfit, was released today by America's Voice, the National Immigration Forum and the SEIU labor union. Support for immigration reform is broad including strong backing from Republican voters. From America's Voice:
Almost four out of five voters said they support a system that requires immigrants to pay taxes, holds employers accountable for hiring legal workers and prevents them from exploiting immigrant labor, improves border security and ensures that undocumented immigrants have a chance to work towards citizenship. The plan is broadly favored across partisan, ideological, regional and ethnic groups; more information is available here.
When asked directly about support for creating a path to full citizenship for immigrants versus temporary status, 87 percent of Americans said “it would be better to give people a chance to eventually earn citizenship at some point after they register for legal status, pass a background check, learn English, and pay taxes,” while just 7 percent said “they should be allowed to qualify for legal status and work in the United States but should never be given the chance to earn citizenship.” Support for citizenship was strong across party lines, with 83% of Republicans, 91% of Democrats, and 82% of Independents choosing full integration.
Other key findings include:
- When asked to choose between deporting undocumented immigrants “because they are taking away jobs that Americans need” versus allowing them to become legal taxpayers, “so they pay their fair share and can work toward citizenship in the future,” a solid 73 percent favored the citizenship option over deportation, which received only 22 percent.
- When asked to choose between focusing first on securing the border versus requiring immigrants to “become legal and pay taxes, while also improving border security,” 64 percent favored the combined solution versus 31 percent for border enforcement “first.”
- After hearing pros and cons about the complete reform package, support remained solid and strong. While 77 percent expressed support for the plan and 14 percent said they were opposed at the outset, support rose to 80 percent and opposition stayed at 14 percent after respondents heard arguments against the proposal.
- Voters support politicians who lean into this issue and support a fair and permanent solution. Fully 53 percent of Americans (including 53% of Republicans) said they would be more likely to vote for their Member of Congress if he or she voted for this plan, while only 8 percent of all voters (and 8 percent of Republicans) said they would be less likely to vote for him or her. One-third said that the Member’s vote on immigration reform wouldn’t matter either way.
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