60% think AZ law "ok"... or not strong enough

[Danno 1,228]

Poll: Majority Backs Arizona Immigration Bill

CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.

Despite their expectation that it will burden police departments and disproportionately affect certain ethnic groups, a slim majority of Americans believe the controversial illegal immigration measure recently signed into law in Arizona is "about right" in its approach, according to a newly-released CBS News/New York Times poll.

Fifty-one percent of those surveyed say the law, which critics say essentially mandates racial profiling, takes the right approach, and nine percent say it should go even further.

Thirty-six percent say the law goes too far.

Two in three Republicans say the law takes the right approach, along with roughly half of independents. Among Democrats, support for the law stands at 38 percent. Americans living in the South and Midwest are more likely than those in the East or West to support the measure.

One in two Americans say it is "very likely" that the law "will lead to police officers detaining people of certain racial or ethnic groups more frequently than other racial or ethnic groups." Another 32 percent say that prospect is "somewhat likely." Just 15 percent do not expect some racial or ethnic groups to be affected more than others.

Most also expect the measure to burden police departments: Seventy-eight percent say it is likely the law will place a burden on police resources, including 34 percent who find that prospect "very likely."

Eighty percent say the law will make (legal and illegal) immigrants there less likely to report crime, including 55 percent who say it is "very likely" there will be lower rates of crime reporting by immigrants.

Roughly 70 percent say it is at least somewhat likely that the measure will both reduce the number of illegal residents and new illegal immigration into the country, including 29 percent who say it is "very likely" that will happen. A slim majority say it is at least somewhat likely the measure will reduce crime.

The poll of 1079 adults nationwide was taken between April 28th and May 2nd.

Read the Complete Poll

The Challenge of Immigration:

Sixty-five percent of Americans say illegal immigration is a "very serious problem," up five points from two years ago. Just one in ten says it is not a problem.

In addition, more than three in four (78 percent) say the United States should be doing more to stop illegal immigration. A mere 17 percent say the country is doing all it can.

Most Americans say laws on illegal immigration should be set by the federal government. Fifty-seven percent want the federal government to dictate immigration law, while 34 percent say it should be left to the states.

(Credit: CBS) Opposition to illegal immigration appears to be grounded at least to some extent in concerns about the economy: Nearly three in four Americans (74 percent) say illegal immigrants who use government services but don't pay taxes weaken the economy. Just 17 percent say illegal immigrants strengthen the economy by taking on low-wage jobs.

Most Americans do not want to deport working illegal immigrants, however. Just 32 percent say they should be required to leave the United States.

Forty-three percent say they should be allowed to keep working and be offered a path to citizenship, while 21 percent say they should be allowed to stay in the country as guest workers.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20004030-503544.html

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Poll: Majority Backs Arizona Immigration Bill

CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.

Despite their expectation that it will burden police departments and disproportionately affect certain ethnic groups, a slim majority of Americans believe the controversial illegal immigration measure recently signed into law in Arizona is "about right" in its approach, according to a newly-released CBS News/New York Times poll.

Fifty-one percent of those surveyed say the law, which critics say essentially mandates racial profiling, takes the right approach, and nine percent say it should go even further.

Thirty-six percent say the law goes too far.

Two in three Republicans say the law takes the right approach, along with roughly half of independents. Among Democrats, support for the law stands at 38 percent. Americans living in the South and Midwest are more likely than those in the East or West to support the measure.

One in two Americans say it is "very likely" that the law "will lead to police officers detaining people of certain racial or ethnic groups more frequently than other racial or ethnic groups." Another 32 percent say that prospect is "somewhat likely." Just 15 percent do not expect some racial or ethnic groups to be affected more than others.

Most also expect the measure to burden police departments: Seventy-eight percent say it is likely the law will place a burden on police resources, including 34 percent who find that prospect "very likely."

Eighty percent say the law will make (legal and illegal) immigrants there less likely to report crime, including 55 percent who say it is "very likely" there will be lower rates of crime reporting by immigrants.

Roughly 70 percent say it is at least somewhat likely that the measure will both reduce the number of illegal residents and new illegal immigration into the country, including 29 percent who say it is "very likely" that will happen. A slim majority say it is at least somewhat likely the measure will reduce crime.

The poll of 1079 adults nationwide was taken between April 28th and May 2nd.

Read the Complete Poll

The Challenge of Immigration:

Sixty-five percent of Americans say illegal immigration is a "very serious problem," up five points from two years ago. Just one in ten says it is not a problem.

In addition, more than three in four (78 percent) say the United States should be doing more to stop illegal immigration. A mere 17 percent say the country is doing all it can.

Most Americans say laws on illegal immigration should be set by the federal government. Fifty-seven percent want the federal government to dictate immigration law, while 34 percent say it should be left to the states.

(Credit: CBS) Opposition to illegal immigration appears to be grounded at least to some extent in concerns about the economy: Nearly three in four Americans (74 percent) say illegal immigrants who use government services but don't pay taxes weaken the economy. Just 17 percent say illegal immigrants strengthen the economy by taking on low-wage jobs.

Most Americans do not want to deport working illegal immigrants, however. Just 32 percent say they should be required to leave the United States.

Forty-three percent say they should be allowed to keep working and be offered a path to citizenship, while 21 percent say they should be allowed to stay in the country as guest workers.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20004030-503544.html

I wonder if this poll was conducted before or after the rewrites. I also wonder how many of those polled read the entire law and have discussed its implications as we have done in this forum.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

They should have only polled: Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, California, and Florida.

States that this is a big issue in....

If you live in the northwest or northeast, you hardly deal with the issues that is dealt with down here.

[Danno 1,228]

They should have only polled: Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, California, and Florida.

States that this is a big issue in....

If you live in the northwest or northeast, you hardly deal with the issues that is dealt with down here.

Or as the President would say,,,,, They don't have Skin in the game.

[sjr09 155]

They should have only polled: Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, California, and Florida.

States that this is a big issue in....

If you live in the northwest or northeast, you hardly deal with the issues that is dealt with down here.

Immigration in Arizona:

Fact Sheet

ILLEGAL ALIEN POPULATION

Federation for American

Immigration Reform

(2008 estiimate)Department of

Homeland Security

(2009 estimate)Pew

Hispanic Center

(2009 estimate)500,000460,000500,000

• The illegal alien population makes up half of the state's total foreign-born population (945,226), and 8% of the state's total population.
• Half of all illegal border crossings into the U.S. occur along the Arizona border with Mexico.
• From 1999 to 2008, an average of 1,375 illegal aliens a day were apprehended in the Arizona border sector. DHS does not know how many illegal aliens successfully entered Arizona each day during that period.
• Between 1996 and 2009, the illegal alien population in Arizona increased 300%.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

• Illegal aliens make up 10% of the workforce in Arizona.
• Unemployment in Arizona in March 2010 was 9.6%.
• Over 10% of children enrolled in public schools (K-12) have parents who are in the U.S. illegally.
• Illegal aliens and their children are 37% of the uninsured population in Arizona, and the cost of uncompensated care for illegal aliens in Arizona is approximately $510 million annually.
• The total education, medical, and incarceration costs in Arizona due to illegal immigration are over $2 billion a year.

CRIME

• In Mexico, more than 22,000 people have been killed in an ongoing drug war. Between January 2007 and June 2009 there were over 2,500 murders in Mexico near the Arizona border.
• Arizona's violent crime rate ranks 13th highest in the U.S. Phoenix has the second highest kidnapping rate in the world behind Mexico City.
• In 2008, there were 368 kidnapping and 337 home invasions in Arizona, a 61% increase just since 2005. The city of Phoenix formed a police taskforce in 2009 to combat the rising levels of violence, and still recorded over 300 kidnapping that year. The city of Tucson formed a similar taskforce in 2008 as a response to 150 home invasions.
• A Phoenix police spokesman estimated that the number of reported kidnappings represented only up to a third of the actual cases. Because kidnapping victims are often tortured and threatened with death, many victims are hesitant to go to the police.
• The Border Patrol has found that criminal gangs, such as MS-13, are drawn to Arizona because of the predominance of drug trafficking and human smuggling there.
• In 2007, Arizona found that 11% of its prison population was Mexican nationals and 10.5% had ICE detainers.
• 22% of illegal aliens sentenced in Maricopa County in 2007 were convicted of felonies. 10.6% of those sentenced for either murder or manslaughter were illegal aliens, and illegal aliens were found to be responsible for 16.5% of violent crime in the county.
• The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy has designated Arizona as a "High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area" (HIDTA). Federal agents seized over 1.2 million pounds of marijuana in Arizona in 2009. Arrests have become so common that federal prosecutors in Arizona have routinely declined to press charges against smugglers who are caught with less than 500 pounds of marijuana.
• According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA):
  • Phoenix and Tucson are "major transshipment points for cocaine distribution from Arizona throughout the United States."
  • Mexican-produced methamphetamine is frequently smuggled across the Arizona border and distributed across the U.S.
  • Mexican "black tar heroin" is the type most often found in Arizona.
  • Prescription drugs from Mexico are frequently smuggled into Arizona.

  [*]The Government Accountability Office in a 2005 investigation into the criminal records of over 55,000 illegal aliens nationwide revealed:

  • An average of 8 arrests and 13 offenses each per individual.
  • 45% were arrested for drug or immigration offenses; 15% for property-related offenses such as burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, or property damage; 12% were for murder, robbery, assault, and sex-related crimes. The rest of the total included "such other offenses as traffic violations, including driving under the influence; fraud including forgery and counterfeiting; weapons violations; and obstruction of justice."

Edited May 4, 2010 by sjr09

[sjr09 155]

Rasmussen Report

The Arizona legislature has now passed the toughest measure against illegal immigration in the country, authorizing local police to stop and check the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 70% of likely voters in Arizona approve of the legislation, while just 23% oppose it.

Opponents of the measure, including major national Hispanic groups, say it will lead to racial profiling, and 53% of voters in the state are concerned that efforts to identify and deport illegal immigrants also will end up violating the civil rights of some U.S. citizens. Forty-six percent (46%) don’t share that concern

Those figures include 23% who are very concerned and 18% who are not at all concerned.

Civil rights concerns were a bit higher last year. following a series of aggressive enforcement actions by the Maricopa County Sherriff.

Eighty-three percent (83%) of Arizona voters say a candidate's position on immigration is an important factor in how they will vote, including 51% who say it’s very important.

The measure is already having an impact on this year’s Senate and governor races in the state.

Senator John McCain, who is facing a serious Republican Primary challenge this year in part over his involvement in developing immigration reform legislation, on Monday endorsed the new state law. McCain now earns just 47% support to challenger J.D. Hayworth’s 42% in Arizona’s hotly contested GOP Senate Primary race.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

Arizonans consistently have been critical of the U.S. government’s failure to secure the border with Mexico, and that anxiety has increased with growing drug violence along the border.

While many in Washington, D.C. view immigration reform as a way to legalize the 10 million or more illegal immigrants in the country, 73% of voters in Arizona now say gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of these undocumented workers.

In July of last year, 51% of Arizona voters said it is more important for Congress to pass immigration reform than health care reform.

That view is shared by voters nationwide and has been for several years.

Eighty-four percent (84%) of Arizona Republicans and 69% of voters not affiliated with either major party in the state favor the new get-tough legislation. Democrats are more closely divided: 51% like the new law, but 43% oppose it.

Sixty percent (60%) of Democrats and 57% of unaffiliateds are concerned that the law may lead to possible civil rights violations against U.S. citizens. Fifty-four percent (54%) of Republicans are not very or not at all concerned about this.

Republican Governor Jan Brewer now has the bill on her desk, awaiting either her signature into law or her veto. State Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democrat who is running against Brewer for governor this year, has announced his opposition to the new law.

The top four GOP contenders for governor of Arizona, including Brewer, have all expanded their support since last month in match-ups with Goddard. The Democrat has lost ground and now trails in all four contests. One factor in the latest trends may have been Goddard’s refusal to join other states in suing the federal government over the new health care law. Brewer found a way to proceed despite Goddard’s refusal and got a big bounce in the polls.

The new law puts into state statute some of the policies that have long been practiced by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. But his aggressive enforcement of federal laws against illegal immigration have triggered a Justice Department probe and moves by the Obama administration to reduce his ability to enforce federal immigration laws.

When these moves against Arpaio were first reported in March 2009, 68% of Arizona voters said they had a favorable view of the sheriff. Voters also strongly favored his tactics including police raids on places where illegal immigrants gather to find work.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

[SMOKE 1,426]

'The Nazi, Racist angle failed!'

no Danno i think it worked. it has galvanized support for the law.

if you oppose cap & tax - you're a racist.

if you oppose healthcare take over - you're a racist.

if you oppose sweetie deals for hedge funds - you're a racist.

if you support immigration enforcement - you're a racist.

if you play the race card w/o warrant - you're screwed, you lose.

people are sick & tired of this old hack & smear sh!t from the left.

[Peikko 1,575]

'The Nazi, Racist angle failed!'

no Danno i think it worked. it has galvanized support for the law.

if you oppose cap & tax - you're a racist.

if you oppose healthcare take over - you're a racist.

if you oppose sweetie deals for hedge funds - you're a racist.

if you support immigration enforcement - you're a racist.

if you play the race card w/o warrant - you're screwed, you lose.

people are sick & tired of this old hack & smear sh!t from the left.

Continuing to make stupid claims that the left are continually 'playing race cards' about any and every topic is quite unwarranted in the context of posters on VJ. It would seem you are purposefully adding to the already murky waters surrounding this debate Why would you want to do that?

[Peikko 1,575]

I wonder if this poll was conducted before or after the rewrites. I also wonder how many of those polled read the entire law and have discussed its implications as we have done in this forum.

It's an interesting poll, but if it is being posted to suggest that because more people than not believe this law is ok, that means the law is ok, then that's messed up.

[Danno 1,228]

It's an interesting poll, but if it is being posted to suggest that because more people than not believe this law is ok, that means the law is ok, then that's messed up.

The poll can make no judgements about the law being "ok" or not, what it does is... help shed light on the mood of the people in the country...... a very diverse people I might add.

[SMOKE 1,426]

Continuing to make stupid claims that the left are continually 'playing race cards' about any and every topic is quite unwarranted in the context of posters on VJ. It would seem you are purposefully adding to the already murky waters surrounding this debate Why would you want to do that?

its true. sucks when you're faced w/ the truth doesn't it?

[sachinky 464]

Funnily enough, of all the cards, I'd say the "race card" is the one that is played most often.

[Peikko 1,575]

its true. sucks when you're faced w/ the truth doesn't it?

It's true because you say so? Funnily enough if I am presented with something truthful that contradicts something I believe, I have and do change my opinion - adaptability to change is a useful mechanism. However, what you posted bears no resemblance to any truth, and nor do you believe it does.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Since when did chestbeating and grandstanding become "truth".

[SMOKE 1,426]

It's true because you say so? Funnily enough if I am presented with something truthful that contradicts something I believe, I have and do change my opinion - adaptability to change is a useful mechanism. However, what you posted bears no resemblance to any truth, and nor do you believe it does.

maybe you should watch a little news or read others posts & not fixate on the exceptionality of your own.

Since when did chestbeating and grandstanding become "truth".

oh okay, its only chestbeating & grandstanding when others do it...i got it now.