Americans Overwhelmingly Support Immigration Enforcement, NOT Illegal Alien Amnesty and Guest Workers

[GaryC 7]

As some of you may have noticed I have been refraining from posting things that tend to start heated debates lately. But Stevens constant stream of pro-illegal drivel has made me decide to respond. Americans in a huge majority do not want amnesty and the only party that will stop it is the Reps.

Americans Overwhelmingly Support Immigration Enforcement, NOT Illegal Alien Amnesty and Guest Workers, Finds New Zogby Poll

As the Senate renews consideration of a massive illegal alien amnesty bill, a new poll by the Zogby Polling Organization finds that the American public prefers the enforcement-only approach of the bill approved by the House of Representatives last December. Sixty-nine percent of likely voters support a comprehensive strategy of border enforcement, sanctions against employers who hire illegal aliens, and greater involvement of local law enforcement, while only 27 percent said they oppose such a strategy. Overwhelmingly, respondents favored the House-approved enforcement bill over the proposed Senate amnesty legislation by a lopsided 64 percent to 30 percent margin.

The Zogby poll is significant because it offered respondents a choice of the full range of options available to deal with illegal immigration. Several recent polls have posed questions that asked respondents to choose between mass deportation and mass amnesty. President Bush and other prominent backers of amnesty have argued that "we cannot deport 12 million people," even though no serious proponent of immigration enforcement has ever suggested mass deportations.

"When asked to choose among the full range of options, the American public clearly supports a workable, long-term strategy to enforce our immigration laws. They do not support a massive amnesty program," noted Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "Americans are realistic enough to understand that a problem of the magnitude of our illegal immigration crisis is not going to be solved overnight. When they are asked about the long-term enforcement strategy approved in the House bill, they are overwhelmingly in favor of it."

The pro-illegal alien lobby and many in the media have focused on a few narrow provisions of the House bill, while ignoring the overall strategy of creating conditions that will convince many, if not most, of the illegal aliens to leave over time. If implemented, the House legislation would reverse the flow of illegal immigrants and, over time, reduce the illegal alien population through attrition.

Americans also expressed deep skepticism about a proposed increase in the number of guest workers admitted to this country. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) believe that America has an ample supply of labor and that if access to illegal aliens and guest workers were curtailed, American workers and legal immigrants would fill jobs at higher wages. Only 2 percent of respondents said they favored increases in permanent immigration.

"The so-called controversy about illegal immigration appears to be more of a creation of the media and a few special interests rather than a reality," Stein observed. "Americans are united on this issue. They want our immigration laws enforced."

When asked about the enforcement provisions that are actually in the House bill, Americans support them by more than a two-to-one margin over amnesty and guest workers. "Given that the overwhelming majority of Americans agree on this critical issue, we believe it is time for the Senate and the White House to get behind a viable enforcement strategy that will get our borders under control and reverse the flow of illegal migration."

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Steven,

You been served.

[no name 1]

May 2006?

Try again with a more current poll.

[Marilyn. 340]

I don't think anyone here is pro illegal if anything we are pro-people...

maybe we just think there is a better solution then to just ship all the illegals out of the US....

[JODO 2]

I don't think anyone here is pro illegal if anything we are pro-people...

maybe we just think there is a better solution then to just ship all the illegals out of the US....

Ya bus them out

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

ABC News/Washington Post poll, dated 11/8/2007:

IMMIGRATION -- On another much-debated issue, immigration, a bare majority, 51 percent, supports a program offering a path to permanent status to illegal immigrants; 44 percent oppose it. (Support for this kind of program goes higher in polls that propose deportation as the only alternative.)

There are partisan and ideological divisions on immigration as well, but within a closer range. Support for a legal-status program ranges from 67 percent of liberal Democrats to 43 percent of conservative Republicans. The idea's much more popular among young adults (63 percent support) than among their elders (44 percent of those 50 and older), and more among women than men.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/stor...4625&page=1

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Poll PDF - http://www.abcnews.go.com/images/PollingUn...ocialIssues.pdf

[GaryC 7]

ABC News/Washington Post poll, dated 11/8/2007:

IMMIGRATION -- On another much-debated issue, immigration, a bare majority, 51 percent, supports a program offering a path to permanent status to illegal immigrants; 44 percent oppose it. (Support for this kind of program goes higher in polls that propose deportation as the only alternative.)

There are partisan and ideological divisions on immigration as well, but within a closer range. Support for a legal-status program ranges from 67 percent of liberal Democrats to 43 percent of conservative Republicans. The idea's much more popular among young adults (63 percent support) than among their elders (44 percent of those 50 and older), and more among women than men.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/stor...4625&page=1

Illegal Immigration’s Puzzling Polls Provide Insight

Jun 13th, 2007 by The Patriot

Mickey Kaus, over at Slate, did and interesting piece on the immigration polls cited by pro enforcement media and pro amnesty media. Yes there are such things.

The polls pro enforcement media cite, show there is fierce opposition to illegal immigration, more specifically, the amnesty bill that just won’t die (S.1348). At the same time, the pro amnesty media says the majority of Americans “favor an earned path to citizenship” and a guest worker program.

What’s up with this? Obviously, they both cannot be correct. Or can they?

Frank Newport, of Gallup Reporting Services, wrote an insightful article on this contradiction.

Gallup’s polling data reveals, when it comes to illegal immigration, 50% of the American people are following the issue and have adequate knowledge of the subject. While 50% of those polled, haven’t followed the issue and lack sufficient knowledge of illegal immigration and the amnesty bill.

Here is Newport’s analysis of the polling numbers…

“One of the important findings here is that a majority of Americans simply don’t have an opinion on the immigration bill — despite its prominence in news coverage and talk show discussions in recent weeks. This is consistent with the data showing that only 18% of Americans say they are following news about the bill very closely.

The second important finding is that among those do know enough about the bill to have an opinion, there is roughly a three to one level of opposition over support. Additionally, a majority of opponents to the bill feel strongly about their views, while a majority of those who favor the bill say they don’t feel strongly about their opinion.

In short, there is a core group of about one-third of Americans who are opposed to the bill, counterbalanced by only about one-tenth who support it. This is in the context of the largest group of Americans — a clear majority — that says they don’t know enough about the bill to have an opinion about it.

Opposition to the bill is very high — 61% — among those who are paying very close attention to it, while only 17% of this group favor it. The ratio of opposition to support drops among those who are following news of the bill somewhat closely, and even more so among the few Americans not paying much attention to the bill who have an opinion.”

Apparently, those who are following the illegal immigration issue “not too closely” are the majority of the people who favor the amnesty bill.

Those who have followed the issue closely, in other words, those who are somewhat educated on the subject of illegal immigration, are the majority of the people who oppose amnesty for illegal aliens.

This makes a lot of sense to me on a number of levels. Being painfully familiar with the pro amnesty talking points, I often found them weak and off the mark. Their justifications for amnesty, open borders and the current legislation, lack any substance and often I find their talking points nonsensical.

You would expect talking points of this nature emanating from and directed at people who have not educated themselves on the issue of illegal immigration. The bottom line is only people who are not familiar with illegal immigration are most apt to support it and the amnesty bill.

Now it also makes sense to me why the mainstream media handles illegal immigration in the manner they do. Mainstream reporting of illegal immigration usually has an emotional appeal and race baiting element to it. First they appeal to the un-knowledgeable by pulling at the heart strings. Then they label pro enforcement advocates as xenophobes, bigots and racists. The mainstream media is very effective and manipulative in their handling of a population that is ignorant to the subject.

This mainstream media approach fosters ignorance. By making the topic of illegal immigration distasteful through labeling the issue as racial and emotional, people get turned off of the issue and remain ignorant. The polls have shown, ignorance builds support for the amnesty bill and illegal immigration in general.

It’s clear why they produce the articles they publish or broadcast. These articles are specifically targeted to those individuals who do not have much familiarity with the illegal immigration issue. This explains why those who are knowledgeable about illegal immigration are most often offended by the mainstream media.

The end result of the msm approach is to create an opinion about illegal immigration and the amnesty bill where none existed. The “engineering” of an opinion that favors open borders and the illegal alien amnesty bill.

An interesting side note is I have found most illegal alien supporters have a liberal political ideology. As with immigration, I often find liberal positions weak, lacking substance, sometimes laughable and sometimes offensive. As with the illegal immigration dilemma, perhaps liberal positions are formulated on this same lack of knowledge on any given issue. That would explain a lot, but I digress.

The conclusions that I have drawn from this information is as follows:

* Polls showing the majority of Americans are against illegal immigration and the amnesty bill and polls showing Americans favor a “path to citizenship” and a guest worker program are both correct.

Though those favoring the bill, a “path to citizenship” and a guest worker program lack sufficient of knowledge on the issue.

* People who are most educated on the issue of illegal immigration are most likely to oppose open borders, illegal immigration and the amnesty bill.

* People who have the least amount of familiarity with illegal immigration and the amnesty bill are most likely to support either or both.

* Of the Americans who have sufficient knowledge of the issue of illegal immigration, they oppose it and the amnesty bill by a very strong margin of 3 to 1.

* Of those in the minority that favor the amnesty bill, three in ten support the bill because “something needs to done” or they have bought into the mainstream media mantra that “it’s impractical to deport illegal aliens”.

Keep in mind, that this is the group most ignorant on the subject of illegal immigration.

* The mainstream media is targeting those ignorant on the issue. They are using manipulative, emotional and race baiting techniques on this audience. Politicians are also targeting this group in the same manner.

This is useful information to the pro enforcement advocates. In order for us to be politically effective, we need to play the roll of educator. The polls prove that the more people know about the subject of illegal immigration the more likely they are to oppose it.

Approximately 50% of Americans have an adequate understanding of the illegal immigration issue. This makes targeting those we need to educate an easy task.

When we encounter polls that support illegal aliens and amnesty, we automatically have the defense that only those ignorant on the subject, support amnesty and illegal immigration. Our counter to those taking the pro alien position is to educate them.

In addition to calling, emailing, faxing and writing our political leaders, we need to spearhead an initiative to educate the 50% of the people who are not familiar with the illegal immigration issue.

By doing so, we will swell the ranks of those opposed to illegal immigration and amnesty. This will only grow the political clout, as evidenced by the temporary defeat of the illegal alien amnesty bill, that we now have.

Encourage those not familiar with illegal immigration to visit websites like FAIR, NumbersUSA and the Center for Immigration Studies. These websites offer an enormous array of educational material about illegal immigration. Use basic literature like the Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Control’s (CTCIC) Newsletter and Brochure. This literature provides an elementary understanding of the issue and guides people to other educational resources.

In light of the fact that the mainstream media seeks to keep the masses ignorant on illegal immigration, it’s up to us to counter that in the most aggressive ways possible.

Educate everyone you come across. Provide them with and guide them to educational sources. Get them on your email lists for continuing educational purposes. Encourage them to become politically active.

Knowledge is power. Provide the knowledge and we will have the power to defeat illegal immigration and any legislation that favors it.

http://peoplespatriot.com/?p=78

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Plenty of uninformed people vote. Excluding their opinions from the analysis is silly.

Do you really think attack ads work on those who are deeply aware of the issues and have thought about them? No - they work on the uninformed, the idiots. The fact that attack ads continue speaks to their effectiveness, which in turn speaks to the strong presence of the very people whose opinions you wish to discount.

[Marilyn. 340]

you are always going to find some article or poll to support whatever you are trying to say or prove (no mater what side you are on) but it doesn't mean it is accurate....

Edited November 8, 2007 by MarilynP

[GaryC 7]

you are always going to find some article or poll to support whatever you are trying to say or prove (no mater what side you are on) but it doesn't mean it is accurate....

The fact that a immigration bill that was a slam dunk to pass was shot down so quickly says volumes. Once the people found out what was in it the pressure they put on those in congress was immense. The fact that there has been no subsequent amnesty bills that gained any support also says a lot. The last thing is all the tough state bills that passed after that says what the American people really want. Anyone that thinks America wants amnesty is just fooling themselves. There will never be another '86 style amnesty thank God.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

you are always going to find some article or poll to support whatever you are trying to say or prove (no mater what side you are on) but it doesn't mean it is accurate....

The fact that a immigration bill that was a slam dunk to pass was shot down so quickly says volumes. Once the people found out what was in it the pressure they put on those in congress was immense. The fact that there has been no subsequent amnesty bills that gained any support also says a lot. The last thing is all the tough state bills that passed after that says what the American people really want. Anyone that thinks America wants amnesty is just fooling themselves. There will never be another '86 style amnesty thank God.

And with all the loud noises and hot air coming from the extreme xenophobic wing of American society, how come not one bill has been passed to deport them all, en masse, as desired - nay, DEMANDED - by the xenophobes?

Could it be that ... *gasp* ... the xenophobes are just a lot of hot air?

[Peikko 1,575]

I am all agog to see which of the candidates really takes the reins on this one. The US government still wants to be seen to be taking a humanitarian approach and of course any measures put in place have to meet budget requirements which rather precludes some of the extreme hard line measures that some would like to see implemented.

My guess is, that this will remain an issue that can't be solved for some time to come.

[GaryC 7]

you are always going to find some article or poll to support whatever you are trying to say or prove (no mater what side you are on) but it doesn't mean it is accurate....

The fact that a immigration bill that was a slam dunk to pass was shot down so quickly says volumes. Once the people found out what was in it the pressure they put on those in congress was immense. The fact that there has been no subsequent amnesty bills that gained any support also says a lot. The last thing is all the tough state bills that passed after that says what the American people really want. Anyone that thinks America wants amnesty is just fooling themselves. There will never be another '86 style amnesty thank God.

And with all the loud noises and hot air coming from the extreme xenophobic wing of American society, how come not one bill has been passed to deport them all, en masse, as desired - nay, DEMANDED - by the xenophobes?

Could it be that ... *gasp* ... the xenophobes are just a lot of hot air?

Please don't call me a xenophobe. I am not afraid of people from another country. That is just a cheap label used by people that can't support their views.

Not passing an amnesty bill and passing one that deports them are two different things. We already have laws on the books that make deportation the thing to do. We just are not enforcing the law. Thats the part of "enforcement" that most Americans are in favor of.

[Peikko 1,575]

For what it's worth, I don't think Gary is a xenophobe. He wants action on a tough issue. I understand that, even though I personally can't see how anyone expects a democracy to take some of the actions proposed.