Gallup
By Jeffrey M. Jones
August 12, 2015
Two
in three U.S. adults favor a plan to allow immigrants who are living
illegally in the U.S. to remain in the country and become citizens if
they meet certain requirements
over time. Far fewer support allowing those immigrants to remain in the
U.S. to work for a limited period of time (14%), or to deport all of
these immigrants back to their home countries (19%). U.S. adults' views
have been largely stable over the past decade.
The
latest update comes from Gallup's 2015 Minority Rights and Relations
poll, conducted June 15-July 10. The poll included larger samples of
blacks and Hispanics. Immigration
is of special significance to Hispanics, about half of whom are
immigrants themselves, according to the poll.
Hispanics
(77%) are more likely than non-Hispanic whites (62%) or non-Hispanic
blacks (70%) to favor a path to citizenship for immigrants who are in
the U.S. illegally.
One in five whites, compared with 14% of blacks and 8% of Hispanics,
prefer deporting undocumented immigrants back to their home countries.
Hispanics
are slightly less likely now than in 2006 (86%) to favor a path to citizenship for immigrants. The 2006 survey was the last time Gallup
asked the question in
a poll that included an expanded sample of Hispanics. Whites' and
blacks' views are largely unchanged since then.
U.S.
adults' views on the best approach to take with illegal immigrants
living in the U.S. differ based on their party identification. At 80%,
Democrats overwhelmingly
favor allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S. and to have an
opportunity to become citizens. Republicans are far less likely to
support a path to citizenship, at 50%, but that is still the most common
view among this group. Thirty-one percent of Republicans
want to see all illegal immigrants deported, while 18% favor allowing
them to stay for a limited time to work.
Neither
party's views have changed dramatically over the past decade, but
Democrats are now a bit more likely to endorse citizenship while
Republicans are less likely
to do so. The 31% of Republicans who favor deporting all illegal
immigrants is up from 20% in 2006, while the percentage of Republicans
favoring a path to citizenship is down from 58% to 50%. In 2006,
President George W. Bush favored legislation that included
a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
There
has been a 10-point increase since 2006 in the percentage of Democrats
who favor a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Implications
U.S.
adults do not express a clear preference on whether immigration levels
should be increased, decreased or kept the same, but they mostly agree
that immigrants living
in the U.S. illegally should be allowed to stay and be given the
opportunity to become citizens.
Even
so, the federal government has been unable to agree on comprehensive
immigration reform over the past 10 years. In 2006, the House and Senate
passed differing reform
bills but could not agree on a reconciled bill. The Senate passed a
bipartisan bill in 2013, but the House took no action on immigration.
This is the case even though U.S. adults widely back many of the
specific provisions that would go into a reform bill,
including increased border security, which has been congressional
Republicans' primary concern.
Nearly
a decade after a record 19% of U.S. adults named immigration the most
important problem facing the country, the issue remains unsettled.
President Barack Obama
sought to use executive actions to grant legal status to illegal
immigrants residing in the U.S., but those moves are on hold pending
legal challenges. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently said
immigration legislation will not be taken up this year
or next, ensuring it will remain an issue in the 2016 presidential
election.
The
issue presents a greater challenge for Republican presidential
candidates than Democratic candidates, given widespread Democratic
support for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Republicans, on the other hand, are divided,
with half supporting a path to citizenship and the other half preferring
a measure that stops short of citizenship, including a substantial 31%
who want all illegal immigrants deported.
As
a result, the party and its presidential candidates face a dilemma in
trying to please the many conservative GOP voters who oppose citizenship and represent a core
constituency in the primary electorate, along with Republicans who
embrace some type of immigration reform. Some party leaders believe
advocating immigration reform could shore up Hispanic support for the
GOP in the 2016 general election.
Survey Methods
Results
for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted June
15-July 10, 2015, with a random sample of 2,296 adults, aged 18 and
older, living in all
50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. All respondents had
previously been interviewed in the Gallup Daily tracking survey and
agreed to be re-contacted by Gallup. For results based on the total
sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error
is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
For
results based on the total sample of 857 non-Hispanic whites, the
margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points at the 95% confidence
level.
For
results based on the total sample of 802 non-Hispanic blacks, the
margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points at the 95% confidence
level.
For
results based on the total sample of 508 Hispanics, the margin of
sampling error is ±7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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