Just 26% Favor Senate Immigration Plan

[GaryC 7]

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

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Initial public reaction to the immigration proposal being debated in the Senate is decidedly negative.

A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey conducted Monday and Tuesday night shows that just 26% of American voters favor passage of the legislation. Forty-eight percent (48%) are opposed while 26% are not sure. The bi-partisan agreement among influential Senators and the White House has been met with bi-partisan opposition among the public. The measure is opposed by 47% of Republicans, 51% of Democrats, and 46% of those not affiliated with either major party.

The enforcement side of the debate is clearly where the public passion lies on the issue. Seventy-two percent (72%) of voters say it is Very Important for “the government to improve its enforcement of the borders and reduce illegal immigration.” That view is held by 89% of Republicans, 65% of Democrats, and 63% of unaffiliated voters.

Advocates of “comprehensive” reform have taken to arguing that those who want an enforcement-only policy must explain how they would deal with the 12 million illegal aliens already living in the country. The public reaction to that question appears to be “Why?” Only 29% of voters say it is Very Important for “the government to legalize the status of illegal aliens already in the United States.”

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of Democrats believe that legalization is Very Important. Just 22% of Republicans and 27% of unaffiliated voters share that view.

Still, 65% of voters would be willing to support a compromise including a “very long path to citizenship” provided that “the proposal required the aliens to pay fines and learn English” and that the compromise “would truly reduce the number of illegal aliens entering the country.” The proposal, specifically described as a compromise, was said to include “strict employer penalties for hiring illegal aliens, building a barrier along the Mexican border and other steps to significantly reduce the number of illegal aliens entering the United States.”

The willingness of voters to accept compromise and allow a path to citizenship suggests both pragmatism and a strong desire to do what it takes to reduce the ongoing flow of illegal immigration. The challenge for proponents of the legislation is to convince voters that they are serious about enforcement and that the proposal will truly work. Until that can be accomplished, public opposition to immigration reform is likely to remain very high. In an era where voters overwhelmingly believe that members of Congress are more interested in their careers than the public good, that will be a difficult goal to achieve.

These survey results are consistent with other recent polling data showing that most Americans favor an enforcement-only reform bill. Support drops when a “path to citizenship” is added to the mix. President Bush’s Job Approval ratings dip every time comprehensive immigration reform tops the news.

In our question measuring support for the Senate bill, Rasmussen Reports did not describe the details of the proposed legislation. We asked survey respondents how closely they have followed news stories about “an immigration reform agreement reached by the Bush Administration and a bi-partisan group of Senators.” Seventy-eight percent (78%) said they were following the story Somewhat or Very Closely. We then asked respondents if they favored or opposed “the immigration reform proposal agreed to last week.”

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_con...mmigration_plan

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

They need to either kill this thing or just let it die in some House committee. Once 2008 comes around, this is going to be a non-issue as no Representative with any sense of self-preservation will ever touch this disaster of a bill.

[GaryC 7]

They need to either kill this thing or just let it die in some House committee. Once 2008 comes around, this is going to be a non-issue as no Representative with any sense of self-preservation will ever touch this disaster of a bill.

I will not vote for any representative that was in favor of this mess. I will vote for someone that is in favor of enforcement and NOT giving the illegals a "path to citizenship". Send them home, secure our borders and then work out a guest worker program. This is the same mess that passed in 1986. It just made things worse. Amnesty is wrong.

[Ban Hammer 13,342]

They need to either kill this thing or just let it die in some House committee. Once 2008 comes around, this is going to be a non-issue as no Representative with any sense of self-preservation will ever touch this disaster of a bill.

I will not vote for any representative that was in favor of this mess. I will vote for someone that is in favor of enforcement and NOT giving the illegals a "path to citizenship". Send them home, secure our borders and then work out a guest worker program. This is the same mess that passed in 1986. It just made things worse. Amnesty is wrong.

ditto. i'll even vote democrat if that is what it takes.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

They need to either kill this thing or just let it die in some House committee. Once 2008 comes around, this is going to be a non-issue as no Representative with any sense of self-preservation will ever touch this disaster of a bill.

I will not vote for any representative that was in favor of this mess. I will vote for someone that is in favor of enforcement and NOT giving the illegals a "path to citizenship". Send them home, secure our borders and then work out a guest worker program. This is the same mess that passed in 1986. It just made things worse. Amnesty is wrong.

ditto. i'll even vote democrat if that is what it takes.

I'm starting to worry about you, Charles.

[Ban Hammer 13,342]

They need to either kill this thing or just let it die in some House committee. Once 2008 comes around, this is going to be a non-issue as no Representative with any sense of self-preservation will ever touch this disaster of a bill.

I will not vote for any representative that was in favor of this mess. I will vote for someone that is in favor of enforcement and NOT giving the illegals a "path to citizenship". Send them home, secure our borders and then work out a guest worker program. This is the same mess that passed in 1986. It just made things worse. Amnesty is wrong.

ditto. i'll even vote democrat if that is what it takes.

I'm starting to worry about you, Charles.

good!

[peejay 327]

This was posted in the Immigration News and Discussion forum and is a White House release:

5. MYTH: A Rasmussen poll shows Americans support an enforcement-only approach.

* FACT: The plan proposed in Rasmussen’s poll does not include many of the components included in the actual plan. Rasmussen asked respondents: “A different proposal has been made that also includes a fence along the Mexican border, more border patrol agents, strict penalties on anyone who hires illegal aliens. This proposal, however, would also offer illegal aliens a path to citizenship if they pay back taxes and other fines. Would you favor or oppose this proposal?”

* FACT: The process is much more onerous than the text of Rasmussen's question suggests. In order to have an opportunity for citizenship, undocumented workers will have to pay a total of $5,000 in fines, pass multiple background checks, complete accelerated English and civics requirements, go back home to apply in their home country, demonstrate merit in the new merit-based green card system, AND go to the back of the line behind those who applied lawfully.

* FACT: A recent bi-partisan poll conducted by The Tarrance Group ® and Lake Research (D) that did include more components of the plan found 75 percent of American voters said they would favor a plan that: provides resources to greatly increase border security; imposes much tougher penalties on employers who hire illegal workers; allows additional foreign workers to come to the U.S. to work for a temporary period; creates a system in which illegal immigrants could come forward and register, pay a fine, and receive a temporary work permit; and provides these temporary workers with a multi-year path to earned citizenship, if they get to the end of the line and meet certain requirements like living crime free, learning English, and paying taxes. Only 17 percent opposed this plan.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/20...5/20070522.html

Bush is about as out of touch with reality as Teddy Kennedy. First Bush does everything in his power to throw open the back door welcome mat to masses of illegal aliens from the get-go of his administration and then now he claims now we cannot enforce existing law because there are too many of them and amnesty is the only option. Bush is a sleazy, corrupt, oligarch that panders to his sleazy corporate patrons. Bush and Kennedy are both sleazy and corrupt pandering peas on opposite ends of the same pod. How gullible are you to believe their lies and deceptions?

There is no such thing as a "temporary guest worker" and "amnesty" is not the only solution.