Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 74, No. 2, Summer 2010, pp.

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THE POLLSTRENDS AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION ON IMMIGRANTS AND IMMIGRATION POLICY

FRANCINE SEGOVIA* RENATTA DEFEVER

Abstract Since the issue of immigration and its effects on the United States persists and discussions on the topic continue to intensify, this article reviews public opinion trends on immigrants and immigration. We review Americans overall assessment of immigrants and immigrationrelated issues such as immigrant impact on the U.S. economy, perceptions of elected ofcials performance on handling immigration issues, and preferred approaches to immigration policy. We draw our framework from Lapinski et al.s 1997 Public Opinion Quarterly review of public attitudes and beliefs regarding immigrants and immigration. This study updates the trends presented in 1997, beginning in many cases with the nal time point presented in that earlier article and including current national public opinion trends of questions not previously documented but which have become relevant to the current immigration debate. The current review reveals mixed attitudes, dualities in Americans thinking, and splits on immigration issues. In the current review, public opinion is at times ambivalent, espousing certain attitudes that challenge others. In addition, less extreme attitudes are revealed in the publics view of certain policies as compared with Lapinski et al.s piece. Spanning what will now be over a decade, public opinion indicates an increasing concern over immigration issues in addition to a lack of conFRANCINE SEGOVIA is a U.S. Navy Research psychologist at the Robert E. Mitchell Center for Prisoner of War Studies, Pensacola, FL, USA. RENATTA DEFEVER is a graduate student in the School of Education, University of CaliforniaDavis, Davis, CA, USA. This project was supported in part by the Public Policy Institute of California. The authors are especially thankful to Dr. Max Neiman, Associate Director of Research at the Public Policy Institute of California, Dr. Robert Sellers, University of Michigan Department of Psychology professor and Associate Chair, and Dr. James Jackson, professor and Director for the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, for the comments and guidance provided on this project. The survey results reported here were obtained from searches of the iPOLL Databank and other resources provided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Connecticut. *Address correspondence to Francine Segovia, Robert E. Mitchell Center for Prisoner of War Studies, 220 Hovey Road, Pensacola, FL 32508, USA; e-mail: francine.segovia@med.navy.mil.
doi: 10.1093/poq/nfq006 Advance Access publication March 26, 2010 The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

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Segovia and DeFever dence in the ability of the countrys leaders to address them. More than half of todays immigrants came to the United States in the 1990s, and their share of the population is at historically peak levels. Estimates indicate that between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. foreign-born population grew by more than 11 million. As the rise in the immigrant population has increased, so have debates over how best to handle immigration issues. Although policymakers have suggested a variety of possible solutions, public opinion seems deeply divided on how best to handle immigration.

The Current Study

Since the issue of immigration and its effects on the United States persists and discussions on the topic continue to intensify, this paper reviews public opinion trends on immigrants and immigration. Our framework is drawn from Lapinski et al.s (1997) review of public attitudes regarding immigrants and immigration in Public Opinion Quarterly. The current study updates trends presented in 1997 in addition to recent national public opinion not previously covered in the earlier piece, but which has become relevant to the current immigration debate. Using the Roper Centers iPOLL Databank, researchers located datasets using the following key terms: immigrant/immigration, illegal/legal immigrants, and foreigners. Only questions with identical or similar wording to each other and which were appropriate for comparison across time were included in this report.

Synopsis of Findings
In the current review, the public appears conicted and ambivalent about immigration. Opinions on the governments ability to handle immigration issues, in addition, reveal extreme and clearly negative attitudes. However, an ambivalence is also reected in the survey data, for instance, in public concern about illegal immigrants and the belief that illegal immigrants contribute to the United States. In addition, although the majority of Americans espouse some form of policy allowing illegal immigrants the opportunity to become legal citizens, there is much variation in the particular mechanism through which this is to occur. The last review of American public opinion on immigration revealed perspectives toward immigrants and immigration that were predominantly negative. This review, however, reveals mixed attitudes, dualities in American thinking, and even splits on immigration issues.
GENERAL OPINION ON IMMIGRANTS AND IMMIGRATION

Levels of immigration: Lapinski et al.s (1997) review reported that between 1993 and 1995 more than two-thirds of Americans believed that levels of im-

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Table 1. General Attitudes Toward Immigration. Should immigration be kept at its present level, increased, or decreased?
GALLUP/ GALLUP/ GALLUP/ CNN/USA CNN/USA CNN/USA Today GALLUP GALLUP GALLUP Today Today 7/95 2/99 9/00 3/01 10/01 9/02 (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Present Increased Decreased DK/No opinion N 28 8 62 4 801 41 10 44 5 1,013 41 13 38 8 2,000 41 10 43 6 1,024 30 8 58 4 1,006 26 17 54 3 1,003

GALLUP/ CNN/USA GALLUPa GALLUPa GALLUPa Todaya GALLUPa 6/03 6/04 6/05 12/05 6/06 (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Present Increased Decreased DK/No opinion N 37 13 47 3 1,385 33 14 49 4 2,250 34 16 46 4 2,264 31 15 51 3 1,003 42 17 39 2 2,032

GALLUPa 6/07 (%) 35 16 45 4 2,388

a Data from these surveys were drawn from a national sample of adults including oversamples of Blacks and Hispanics. The results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

migration should be decreased. Despite an increase in immigrants in the United States (Camarota 2004), the percentage of people believing that immigration levels need to be decreased declined nearly 20 percentage points between 1995 and 2007 (table 1). Only once in the current decade did the percentage of Americans believing that immigration should be decreased ever reach levels comparable to those of the early 1990s. Indeed, between 2000 and 2007, the percentage of Americans believing that immigration needed to be decreased stayed in the 40th percentile, indicating a consistent decrease from the earlier decade. This raises important issues regarding whether attitudes toward immigration are driven by the facts on the ground or whether some contextual factors such as the state of the economy, the politics of the times, or media coverage of the issue are actually the important determinants of how the public perceives immigrants and the immigration issue (Neiman 2007).

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Table 2a. Attitudes Toward Illegal Immigrants. Now Id like you to concentrate on those immigrants who are in this country illegallyin other words, immigrants who do not have the permission of the government to live in the United States and can be deported if they are caught. Does the presence of illegal aliens in this country concern you a great deal, somewhat, or not at all?
Time/YP 9/93 (%) Great deal Somewhat Not at all Not sure N 48 40 12 1 1,108 Time/CNN/YP 9/94 (%) 49 41 9 1 800

Table 2b. Personal Worry About Immigration. GALLUP: Next Im going to read a list of problems facing the country. For each one, please tell me if you personally worry about this problem a great deal, a fair amount, only a little, or not at all. How much do you personally worry about illegal immigration?
4/01 (%) A great deal A fair amount Only a little Not at all No opinion N 28 24 29 18 1 1,060 4/02 (%) 33 25 26 16 * 1,006 4/03 (%) 37 26 23 13 1 1,008 4/04 (%) 37 22 25 15 1 1,005 4/05 (%) 33 23 29 14 1 1,004 4/06 (%) 43 29 18 10 * 1,000 4/07 (%) 45 23 20 12 1 1,009

*Less than 0.5 percent.

Concern over illegal immigrants: American concern over immigration reveals equal if not increased levels of concern as compared with the earlier decade. In 1993, when Time magazine asked Americans how concerned they were about illegal immigration, nearly half of Americans reported being greatly concerned (table 2a). A decade later, concern remained high. Public concern during the current decade increasingly escalated between 2001 and 2007. While only 28 percent of Americans reported being greatly concerned about illegal immigration in 2001, by 2007, 45 percent of Americans reported concern over illegal immigration (table 2b). The data indicate increasing immigration concerns among a large percentage of Americans.

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Table 3. Illegality of Immigrants. CBS/NYT: Do you think most of the people who have moved to the United States in the last few years are here legally, or are most of them here illegally?
6/93 (%) Legal Illegal Half and half No opinion N 17 68 5 9 1,363 12/01 (%) 29 53 3 15 1,052 5/07 (%) 16 75 2 7 1,125

Table 4. Evaluations of Personal Characteristics of Immigrants. Generally, do todays immigrants work harder than people born here, not as hard, or isnt there much difference?
CBS/NYT 6/93 (%) Harder Not as hard Not much difference Depends/DK N 45 9 37 9 1,363 CBS/NYT 1/04 (%) 46 6 39 9 1,022 CBS 10/05 (%) 46 6 43 5 808 CBS/NYT 5/07 (%) 46 8 39 7 1,125

Additionally, Lapinski et al.s review revealed a public split on the issue of illegal immigration. Since then, public concern over illegal immigration has increased. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2006 by Schulman, Ronca & Bucuvalas, Inc., for instance, nds the American public making an explicit distinction between legal and illegal immigration.1 It is apparently illegal, not legal, immigration that concerns Americans. As such, Americans report that illegal immigration is a bigger problem (60 percent) for the United States as compared to legal (4 percent) immigration. This nding parallels previous results reported in Lapinski et al.s (1997) review indicating that Americans negative sentiment is directed primarily at illegal immigrants. Assessment of immigrant residency status: The matter of legal versus illegal immigrants is made even more complex by the fact that Americans typically believe that immigrants are here illegally. More than a decade ago, seven in 10 Americans believed that most of the people who had moved to the United
1. Respondents were asked: Now, thinking about our country, which of these is a bigger problem for the United States right nowlegal immigration, illegal immigration, both equally, or neither?

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Table 5. Perceived Impact of Immigrants/Immigration on the United States. Overall, would you say most recent immigrants to the United States contribute to this country, or do most of them cause problems?
CBS/NYT 6/86 (%) Contribute Cause problems Both (vol.) Depends on origin (vol.) DK/No answer N 34 44 7 2 13 1,618 CBS/NYT 6/93 (%) 30 50 7 2 11 1,363 CBS 1/94 (%) 29 53 8 2 8 1,210 CBS/NYT 12/01 (%) 51 31 4 1 13 1,052 CBS/NYT 5/07 (%) 57 28 6 1 8 1,125

Table 6. Immigration: Good or Bad for Country? GALLUP: On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?a
6/01 (%) Good thing Bad thing Mixed (vol.) No opinion N
a

6/02 (%) 52 42 4 2 1,360

6/03 (%) 58 36 4 2 1,385

6/05 (%) 61 34 3 2 2,264

6/06 (%) 67 28 4 1 2,032

6/07 (%) 60 33 3 4 2,388

62 31 5 2 1,004

All data in this table are based on a national adult sample including oversamples of Blacks and Hispanics. The results are weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

States in the past few years were here illegally (table 3). By 2007 the majority of Americans continued to believe this. Although this percentage dropped to about 50 percent of Americans in 2001, by 2007 nearly eight in 10 Americans believed that most people who had recently moved to the United States were here illegally (table 3). Immigrants contribution to the United States: Complicating our understanding of Americans views of immigrants are the mixed attitudes expressed on the issue of immigrants and their impact on societal resources. While Americans are generally concerned about the presence of immigrants in the United States, a duality is observed when inquiring into immigrants contribution to the country. As reported in Lapinski et al. (1997), Americans distinguish between immigrants at the national level and immigrants at the personal level, with more favorable public attitudes associated with individual immigrants personality characteristics. As reported earlier, although a signicant por-

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Table 7. Immigrants as Productive Citizens or Taxpayer Burden. GALLUP: Which comes closer to your point of viewimmigrants in the long run become productive citizens and pay their fair share of taxes, or immigrants cost the taxpayers too much by using government services like public education and medical services?
7/93 (%) Pay fair share of taxes Cost taxpayers too much Neither/Both (vol.)/No opinion N 37 56 7 1,002 12/94 (%) 36 57 7 1,016 2/99 (%) 47 45 8 1,013 9/00 (%) 48 40 12 1,008 6/05a (%) 49 44 7 2,264

a National adult sample including oversamples of Blacks and Hispanics. Results are weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

Table 8. Immigrants: Help or Hurt the Economy? GALLUP: Do you think immigrants mostly help the economy by providing low-cost labor, or mostly hurt the economy by driving wages down for many Americans?
7/93a (%) Mostly help Mostly hurt Neither (vol.) Both (vol.) No opinion N
a b

2/99 (%) 42 48 3 1 6 1,013

9/00 (%) 44 40 7 3 6 1,008

1/04a (%) 30 65 2 1 2 1,003

6/05b (%) 42 49 3 3 3 2,264

28 64 2 2 4 1,002

Asked of Form B, half sample; 1,003 is the full sample. Sample included oversamples of Blacks and Hispanics. Results are weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

tion of Americans are greatly concerned about the presence of immigrants in the United States (table 2b), a plurality in 2007, as in the previous decade, believed that immigrants work harder than people born in the United States (table 4). This pattern is further reected in the almost six in 10 Americans who believe that immigrants contribute to the United States, a clear increase from the roughly three in 10 Americans that believed this was so in 1986 (table 5). Additionally, six in 10 Americans believe that, in general, immigration is a good thing for the country (table 6). Perceived impact of immigrants on Americans and the American worker: Americans are anxious about immigrants impact on public service costs and taxes. For instance, more than four in 10 Americans believe that immigrants cost taxpayers too much by using government services like public education and medical services (table 7). In addition, although the numbers

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Table 9. Immigration Helps or Hurts the United States. NBC News/WSJ/ Hart and McInturff Research: Would you say that immigration helps the United States more than it hurts it, or that immigration hurts the United States more than it helps it?
12/05 (%) Helps more than it hurts Hurts more than it helps Not sure N
a

4/06a (%) 45 45 10 1,109

7/06 (%) 45 42 13 1,010

6/07b (%) 46 44 10 1,114

37 53 10 1,006

National adult sample with an oversample of Hispanics. Results are weighted to be representative of a national adult population. b Survey by NBC, Wall Street Journal, and Hart and McInturff Research.

Table 10. Perceived Impact of Immigrants on Jobs. HARRIS: Id like to read you a series of questions about immigration in this country (United States). For each statement, please tell me if you agree or disagree New immigrants take jobs away from American workers?
06/92a (%) Applies Does not apply Not sure/DK N 62 37 1 1,418 12/94 (%) 64 35 1 1,250

a Sample included an oversample of Blacks. The results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

have clearly decreased from those in 1993 (64 percent), 49 percent of Americans in 2005 reported believing that immigrants mostly hurt the economy by driving wages down for many Americans (table 8). Complicating these negative perceptions of immigrant impact on American wages and services are increasingly positive perceptions of immigrant impact on the United States in general. In 2007, for instance, 46 percent of Americans reported that immigration helps more than it hurts the United States, a clear increase from the 37 percent who believed this in 2005 (table 9). In addition, the majority of Americans today believe that immigrants take jobs Americans do not want (tables 1013). In fact, the percentage of Americans believing that immigrants take jobs away from American workers has notably decreased. Data show that in 1994 the number of people believing that immigrants took jobs away from Americans was 64 percent (table 10), signicantly higher than it was in 2005 (35 percent; table 11). Additional data indicate that in 1981, 40 percent of Americans reported thinking that

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Table 11. Immigrants: Jobs from Americans? Now Id like you to think specically about recent immigrants. What I mean are people who have come to the United States to live and work in the past 10 years or so... Do you think recent immigrants take away jobs from Americans who want them or not?
NPR/Kaiser/ Harvard 5/04 (%) Yes/Agree No/Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Dont know N 46 52 N/A 1 1,888 Foundation for Ethnic Understandinga 9/05 (%) 35 58 5 2 1,388

a Now I am going to read you some statements that people have made about immigration, and I would like you to tell me if you agree or disagree with that statement... Immigrants take away jobs from Americans. Sample included oversamples of Blacks, Hispanics, and Jewish Americans. The results are weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

Table 12. Immigrants: Jobs Americans Dont Want? Do you think the immigrants coming to this country today mostly take jobs away from American citizens, or do they mostly take jobs Americans dont want?
CBS 1/94 (%) Take jobs away Take unwanted jobs Both No opinion N
a

NYT 12/95 (%) 36 55 N/A 10 1,265

CBS/NYT 2/96 (%) 39 51 7 3 1,223

CBS/NYT 7/03a (%) 30 59 6 5 3,092

CBS/NYT 1/04 (%) 39 53 4 4 1,022

31 52 10 7 1,210

Sample included an oversample of Hispanics. The results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

illegal immigrants took jobs Americans needed; by 2007, however, only 27 percent reported believing this (table 13). It is worth tracking this into the future as the supply of higher-skilled workers is stressed and more employers are looking to import engineers and scientists to deal with looming shortages in such elds (Saxenian, 2002).

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Table 13. Immigrants Take Jobs from Americans Who Need Them. Do you think illegal immigrants mostly take jobs that nobody wants, or do they mostly take jobs away from Americans who need them?
LAT 3/81 (%) Jobs nobody wants Jobs Americans need Both Not sure/DK N 48 40 N/A 12 1,681 CBS/NYT 5/06a (%) 53 36 9 2 1,241 LAT 6/06 (%) 51 27 17 5 1,321 CBS/NYT 5/07 (%) 59 30 9 2 1,125 LAT 6/07 (%) 56 27 11 6 1,183

a Sample included an oversample of those 65 years and older. The results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

Table 14. Identification Policies. Do you believe everyone in the United States should be required to carry an identication card containing, among other things, his picture and his ngerprints?
GALLUP 1/42 (%) Favor Oppose No opinion/DK N 69 25 6 1,500c ABC/WPa 10/01 (%) 66 32 2 756 GALLUP/CNN/USA TODAYb 01/02 (%) 54 43 3 1,008

a Would you support or oppose a law requiring all adults in this country to carry a national identication card that includes information such as their photograph and Social Security number? Interviews by TNS Research. b Would you support or oppose a law requiring all adults in this country to carry a national identication card that includes information such as their photograph and Social Security number? c Sample size is approximate.

IMMIGRATION POLICIES AND POLITICAL FIGURES HANDLING OF IMMIGRATION ISSUES

Policymakers have proposed a variety of possible solutions to the immigration controversy, including stricter border enforcement, stricter and more certain penalties for those who aid or employ immigrants, felony status for those convicted of illegal immigration, prohibition of public services for illegal residents, and stricter enforcement of legal status verication. Our review

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Table 15. Military Personnel to Secure Borders. Im going to read you a few ways that have been suggested to increase our border security. For each one Id like you to tell me if you would or would not be in favor of it... Use military personnel to patrol the borders?
ROPER 4/90 (%) Favor Oppose DK/No answer N 80 17 3 1,144 ROPERa 4/92 (%) 65 32 3 1,100 TIME/SRBIb 1/06 (%) 57 39 4 1,002 TIME/SRBIb 3/06 (%) 62 35 3 1,004

a Sample includes an oversample of Californians. The results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population. Survey sponsored by the Federation for American Immigration Reform. b Do you favor or oppose...stopping illegal immigrants from entering the United States by taking whatever steps are necessary to guard the border with Mexico, including using U.S. military forces?

Table 16. Erecting a Wall Along the Border with Mexico. Please tell me whether you would generally favor or oppose each of the following steps which have been proposed for reducing illegal immigration into the United States Erecting a wall along the border with Mexico?
TIME/ FOXc FOXc CNN/ Registered Registered YPb GALLUPa voters TIME/ SRBIb voters 9/93 7/95 10/05 3/06 4/06 (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) 29 68 * 4 1,108 35 62 * 3 801 51 37 * 12 900 56 40 * 3 1,004 50 43 3 4 900

GALLUPa 7/93 (%) Favor Oppose Depends DK N 21 71 * 2 1,002

NOTE.The asterisks indicate not applicable. a There have been several proposals regarding how to deal with the issue of illegal immigration. Please tell me if you favor or oppose each of the following... Building a wall or security fence along the U.S./Mexico border to stop illegal immigration? b Here are some policies that have been suggested to deal with illegal immigrants. Would you favor or oppose... Building a security fence along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border to stop the ow of illegals across that border? c Do you favor or oppose a proposal to build a 2,000-mile-long security fence along the U.S./ Mexico border to stop illegal immigration?

indicates that in most cases, American support for policies either uctuates over time or remains divided.

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Table 17. Opinions Concerning a Fence Along the U.S./Mexico Border. Would you favor or oppose each of the following proposals... Building a 700mile-long fence on the border with Mexico?
CNN 4/06 (%) Favor Oppose DK/No answer N 47 47 6 1,012 CBS 4/06 (%) 48 48 4 899 CNN 10/06 (%) 45 53 2 1,031 CNN 9/06 (%) 54 44 2 1,014 PEW 12/06 (%) 46 48 6 2,007 CNN/ORCP 5/07 (%) 45 53 2 1,028

Table 18. Minutemen: Vigilantes or Concerned Citizens? FOX/ODP: Do you think the citizen volunteers known as Minutemen, who are patrolling the borders, are best described as vigilantes who should leave patrolling to professional law enforcement, or as concerned citizens doing what the government is not doing?
4/05 Registered voters (%) Vigilantes Concerned citizens Havent heard about (vol.) DK N 34 44 10 12 900 5/06 Registered voters (%) 34 46 9 11 900

Status checking: Stemming perhaps from the inability to distinguish between immigrants that are in the country legally and those here illegally, proposals for national identication cards have been generally favored. For example, the proposal to oblige everyone to carry identication cards containing their picture and ngerprints was strongly favored in 1942 (69 percent; table 14). In 2001, nearly 66 percent of Americans approved of requiring all adults in the United States to carry a national identication card that included information such as their photograph and Social Security number. A year later, in 2002, 54 percent of Americans continued to approve of such a policy (table 14). Securing the nations borders: Public opinion over government policies meant to secure the nations borders shows a lack of consensus. In policies related to border security, the use of military personnel to patrol the nations

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Table 19. Policies for Handling Immigrants Already Here. GALLUP/ USA Today: Which comes closest to your view about what government policy should be toward illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States? Should the government deport all illegal immigrants back to their home country; allow illegal immigrants to remain in the United States in order to work, but only for a limited amount of time; or allow illegal immigrants to remain in the United States and become U.S. citizens, but only if they meet certain requirements over a period of time?
4/06 (%) Deport all Remain in the U.S. in order to work Remain in the U.S. and become citizen No opinion N 18 17 63 2 1,004 5/06 (%) 21 15 61 3 1,013 6/06a (%) 16 17 66 1 2,032 3/07 (%) 24 15 59 2 1,010

a Sample included oversamples of Blacks and Hispanics. The results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

Table 20. Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants. GALLUP: Do you think the United States should or should not make it easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens of the United States?
8/01 (%) Should Should not No opinion N 28 67 5 814 1/04 (%) 23 74 3 1,003 6/05a (%) 28 70 2 2,264

a Sample included oversamples of Blacks and Hispanics. Results are weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

borders has gained and lost popularity over time. As of 2006, a solid majority (62 percent) favored such proposals, a sizeable decline from the 80 percent that favored this policy in 1990 (table 15). In addition, during the 1990s, 68 percent of Americans opposed building a security fence along the United States/Mexico border (Time 1993, in table 16). By 2006, however, opposition to building such a fence decreased to 43 percent (in table 16). Similarly, the American public has been reliably split on whether to erect a 700-mile-long fence along the United States/Mexico border (table 17). In 2007, a slim majority of 53 percent opposed it (table 17). Along the veins of protecting the borders in
2. Minutemen are groups of people who look for illegal immigrants along the United States/Mexico border in order to report them to authorities.

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Table 21. Proposal for Illegal Aliens. GALLUP/TIME: It has been proposed that illegal aliens who have been in the United States for seven years be allowed to remain in the United States. Do you favor or oppose this proposal?
10/77 (%) Favor Oppose No opinion N 39 52 9 1,509 11/80 (%) 37 52 11 1,556 11/83 (%) 41 52 7 1,549

Table 22. Legal, Temporary-Worker Status. NBC/WSJ: As you may know, President George W. Bush has proposed to allow foreigners who have jobs but are staying illegally in the United States to apply for legal, temporary-worker status. Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose this proposal?
1/04a (%) Strongly favor Somewhat favor Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose Depends (vol.) Not sure N 40 53 6 1 1,002 5/05 (%) 13 25 19 39 2 2 1,005 12/05 (%) 16 30 18 31 2 3 1,006 3/06 (%) 10 27 20 39 2 2 1,005 12/06 (%) 19 27 18 32 2 2 1,006 4/07 (%) 14 30 18 33 2 3 1,004

NOTE.Surveys by NBC News, Wall Street Journal, and Hart and McInturff Research Companies from 2004 to 2006; survey by NBC News, Wall Street Journal, and Hart and Newhouse Research Companies in 2006. a As you may know, President George W. Bush is proposing to allow foreigners who have jobs but are staying illegally in the United States to apply for legal, temporary-worker status. Do you favor or oppose this proposal?

both 2004 and 2006, about 45 percent of national likely voters reported believing that Minutemen2 were concerned citizens; 34 percent of such voters, however, believed that they are vigilantes (table 18). Handling immigrants already here: The last two decades have additionally shown much variation regarding strategies for handling the immigrants already in the United States (tables 1922). Stable opinions ranging from 18 percent of Americans in 2006 to 24 percent in 2007 consider deporting all immigrants a viable solution (table 19). During this same period, 70 percent of Americans reported that the United States should not make it easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens (table 20). Although there is a lot of

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Table 23. Is the Government Doing Enough with Respect to Illegal Immigration? ABC/WP: Do you think the United States is or is not doing enough to keep illegal immigrants from coming into this country? (If doing/not doing enough, ask:) Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat?
1/05 (%) Yes, doing enough, strongly Yes, doing enough, somewhat No, not doing enough, somewhat No, not doing enough, strongly No opinion N
a

8/05a (%) 11 9 18 62 1 1,006

12/05a (%) 8 12 20 59 2 1,003

4/06a (%) 7 14 19 56 4 1,027

5/06a (%) 9 11 19 58 4 1,103

9 11 18 58 4 1,007

Interviews were conducted by TNS Research.

Table 24. Immigration Policy. Do you think immigration policy in this country works pretty well and requires only minor changes, do you think it needs major changes, or do you think it needs to be completely rebuilt?
PEW/PSRA 2/06 (%) Only minor changes Major changes Completely rebuilt DK/R N 23 41 27 9 1,502 CBS/NYTa 5/07 (%) 8 41 49 2 1,125

a Which of the following three statements comes closest to expressing your overall view of immigration policy in the United States? ... On the whole, our immigration policy works pretty well and only minor changes are necessary to make it work better. There are some good things in our immigration policy, but fundamental changes are needed. Our immigration policy has so much wrong with it that we need to completely rebuild it.

variation in the precise mechanisms involved in allowing illegal immigrants the option of remaining in the United States and becoming citizens, most Americans (59 percent) favor allowing illegal immigrants the option of remaining in the United States and becoming citizens (table 19).
EVALUATIONS OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS HANDLING OF IMMIGRATION ISSUES

Although Americans may favor one immigration policy over another, perceptions of government and ofcials ability to implement these policies is consistently negative. When asked if the United States was doing enough

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Table 25. Political Parties: Right Decision. CBS/NYT: Regardless of how you usually vote, do you think the Republican Party or the Democratic Party is more likely to make the right decisions when it comes to dealing with immigration issues?
12/05 (%) Republican Democratic Both (vol.) Neither (vol.) DK N 32 38 4 9 17 1,155 4/06 (%) 31 43 4 8 14 899 5/06a (%) 29 45 4 5 16 1,241 5/07 (%) 32 44 1 7 16 1,125

a Sample included an oversample of those over 65 years of age. The results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

Table 26. Party Politics: Better Job. NBC/WSJ/Hart and McInturff Research Companies: When it comes to...dealing with immigration, which party do you think will do a better jobthe Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or both about the same? If you think that neither would do a good job, please just say so.
11/05 (%) Democratic Republican About the same Neither (vol.) Not sure N 25 19 21 26 9 1,003 6/06 (%) 27 24 22 20 7 1,002 1/07 (%) 31 21 23 19 6 1,007

to keep illegal immigrants from coming to the country, 77 percent in 2006 said that it was not (table 23). In 2006, only 20 percent of respondents said they approved of the way Congress was handling the nations immigration policy (table 23). In fact, most Americans think that U.S. immigration policy is in need of major change or should be completely rebuilt. The changes in opinions regarding this issue are notable. When this question was asked in 2006, only 27 percent of Americans thought that U.S. immigration policy needed rebuilding (table 24). A year later, perhaps as a reection of the heated immigration policy debates in Congress after the introduction of the Sensenbrenner bill, 49 percent of Americans thought that this should occur
3. The word wrong could be a signicant wording difference between questions. Since there were no other studies asking the identical question, however, the question was the best proxy we could nd for providing information for this trend.

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Table 27. President Clinton and Immigration. CNN/USA TODAY/ GALLUP: Thinking about some issues, do you approve or disapprove of the way President Bill Clinton is handling...immigration?
11/93 (%) Approve Disapprove DK/R N 33 51 16 1,003 4/94a (%) 28 55 17 1,246

a Sample included an oversample of Blacks. The results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

Table 28. Rating of Clinton Administrations Handling of Immigration Policy. GALLUP/CCFR: How do you rate the Clinton administrations handling of the following problems? Would you say the administrations handling of...immigration policy...has been excellent, good, fair, or poor?
10/94 (%) Excellent Good Fair Poor Not sure N 2 13 25 53 7 1,492 10/98 (%) 6 22 30 29 13 1,507

NOTE.Based on personal interviews. Both studies also included separate samples of opinion leaders. The leaders were asked many of the same questions. These results are available from the Roper Center.

(table 24). Another interpretation for the percentage variation, however, might simply be a wording difference in the questions in table 24, which, although similar, were not identical.3 Democrats and Republicans: Public opinion demonstrates consistent variation across surveys in the trust Americans have that one party will more capably handle immigration issues (tables 25 and 26). Americans think that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to make the right decisions when it comes to dealing with immigration (table 25). Since 2006, public opinion has additionally rated the Democratic Party 12 percentage points higher than the Republican Party on this issue (table 25). Ratings of President Clintons and President Bushs handling of immigration issues: The approval ratings for the president and Congress reveal that Amer-

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Table 29. President Bush and Immigration. CBS/NYT: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the issue of immigration?
10/05 (%) Approve Disapprove DK/Refused N 21 53 26 808 5/06a (%) 26 58 16 1,125 5/07 (%) 27 60 13 1,125

a Sample included an oversample of those 65 years and older. Results are weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

Table 30. Approval of President Bushs Handling of Immigration Policy. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the nation's immigration policy?
ABCa 1/04 (%) Approve Disapprove DK/Refused N
a

PEW/PSRA 10/05 (%) 24 54 22 1,003

PEW/PSRA 2/06 (%) 23 57 20 2,006

PEW/PSRA 4/06 (%) 25 62 13 1,001

34 56 10 1,036

Interviews conducted by TNS Research.

Table 31. Approval of President Bushs Handling of Immigration Issues. ABC/WP: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling...immigration issues?
1/05 (%) Approve Disapprove DK/Refused N
a b

8/05a (%) 33 57 10 1,006

5/06a (%) 34 56 10 1,103

5/07a,b (%) 29 64 8 1,205

33 54 13 1,007

Interviews conducted by TNS Research. Sample included an oversample of Blacks. The results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population.

icans have little trust in elected ofcials effectively handling immigration issues. The public consistently gave low approval ratings to both President Clinton and President Bush when it came to handling immigration policy.

Poll TrendsImmigrants and Immigration Policy

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Between 1993 and 1994, just over half disapproved of the way President Clinton handled immigration (table 27). Although President Clintons approval ratings on handling immigration policy signicantly improved from 1994 to 1998, less than one in three said he was doing an excellent or good job in this area in 1998 (table 28). When it comes to immigration issues, however, President Bush has among the highest disapproval ratings of any public servant (tables 2931). Sixty percent of the American population disapproves of President Bushs handling of the matter (table 29). The percentage of disapproval exceeds that of any other governmental ofcial or political party. His disapproval rating on handling the nations immigration policy increased from 56 percent in 2004 to 62 percent in 2006 (table 30). President Bushs disapproval ratings in handling immigration issues reached an all-time high in May 2007, with a solid majority disapproving of his performance (64 percent; table 31).

Conclusions
To date, less extreme attitudes are revealed in the publics opinion of certain policies as compared to the 1990s. The majority of Americans continue to espouse status-checking policies obliging everyone in the United States to carry identication cards. There has been a general decrease in the publics support of security measures entailing the building of fences and walls. In addition, the majority of Americans espouse some form of policy allowing illegal immigrants the option of remaining in the United States. There appears, however, to be increasingly extreme and clearly negative attitudes as to whether the government and public servants can effectively implement these policies. Spanning what will now be over a decade, public opinion on immigration indicates an increasing lack of condence in U.S. leaders abilities to address immigration issues. To date, the Senate, unable to nd common ground, has turned down an immigration bill that would have called for the biggest change in immigration laws in more than 20 years (Pear and Hulse, 2007). Supporters of the bill argued, among other things, for the necessity to immediately address the 12 million illegal immigrants already here. Opponents of the bill, however, called it a form of amnesty for lawbreakers. The debate in the Senate reects the nations division over immigration. It is likely that debates about different policies will only intensify in the future, when a new effort to start a comprehensive reform is undertaken.

References
Camarota, Steven. 2004. Economy Slowed, But Immigration Didnt: The Foreign-Born Population, 20002004. In Backgrounder. Washigton, DC: Center for Immigration Studies.

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Lapinski, John, Pia Peltola, Greg Shaw, and Alan Yang. 1997. Trends: Immigrants and Immigration. Public Opinion Quarterly 61:35683. Neiman, Max. 2007. Personal Communication. Public Policy Institute of California. Pear, Robert, and Carl Hulse. 2007. Immigrant Bill Dies in Senate; Defeat for Bush. New York Times, June 29, 2007. Saxenian, Anna Lee. 2002. Brain Circulation: How High-Skilled Immigration Makes Everyone Better Off. Brookings Review, Winter: 2831.

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