Los Angeles Times
By Paul West
March 28, 2013
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-undocumented-immigrants-legal-status-20130328,0,6924969.story
Nearly
three in four Americans say that illegal immigrants should be allowed
to remain in the country legally, but fewer than half say they should be
allowed to apply for citizenship.
Those
are the key findings of a new national poll, released Thursday, that
reflects a positive shift in attitudes toward immigrants now in the
United States. The survey, conducted March 13-17 by the Pew Research
Center, comes as lawmakers in Washington are attempting to craft a
comprehensive plan to deal with some 11 million people who are thought
to be in the country illegally.
The
new poll reveals opposition to granting legal status from about one in
four Americans (27%) who say that immigrants who came illegally should
not be allowed to stay in the country legally. The remainder are split
over exactly how to grant legal status. The largest group (43%) say that
immigrants living here illegally should be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. Another group (24%) say they should be allowed to apply for
permanent legal residency, but not allowed to gain citizenship. Six
percent don’t know or refuse to answer; the poll’s margin of error is
plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The survey also found that the improving economy appears to have reduced opposition to immigration, both legal and illegal.
Nearly
half of all Americans (49%) say that immigrants strengthen the country
because of their hard work and talent. That is the highest percentage on
that question since September 2000. Conversely, a smaller proportion
(41%) say immigrants are a burden because they take U.S. jobs,
healthcare and housing.
About
three years ago, in June 2010, the balance of opinion was
anti-immigrant. As the economy was struggling to emerge from the worst
recession since the Great Depression, half of those questioned by Pew
(50%) considered immigrants a burden to the United States, while just
39% said they strengthen the country.
In
the new poll, support for granting legal status is highest among blacks
(82%), Latinos (80%) and those with a college degree (84%). It is lower
among whites without a college degree (61%) and those ages 50-64 (65%).
But across all demographic groups, a majority say they wanted illegal
immigrants to be given a way to stay in the U.S. legally.
The
differences are relatively muted along partisan lines. While 76% of
Democrats and 70% of independents say they favor some form of legal
status, fully two out of three Republicans (64%) say they do, too.
That
warming among Republicans is reflected in another report, issued
Thursday by Resurgent Republic, a moderately conservative GOP research
organization. It found that conservative Republican primary voters in
key states are open to an overhaul of the nation’s immigration system
that includes creating a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
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