Immigration Law

An article in the Los Angeles Times today says that one-third of Americans think that illegal immigrants should be denied basic social services. On the other hand, 60% of Americans are in favor of a path to citizenship for immigrants who are here illegally but have not committed crimes. Here are excerpts from the article:

Those crosscurrents create treacherous political waters for the major presidential candidates in both parties, many of whom have tended to avoid spotlighting the issue. But all the White House contenders have been forced to confront the issue repeatedly under questioning at campaign events and candidate forums.

Some poll respondents, in follow-up interviews, expressed frustration that the candidates have not been more forthright in addressing immigration-related issues.

The poll indicates that illegal immigration is not the most important issue voters have on their minds, but that most people view it as a key concern.

Asked what problem is a top priority for presidential candidates to address, 15 percent said illegal immigration ? the fifth most-mentioned topic behind the war in Iraq, the economy, protecting the country from terrorist attack and health care. Asked how much of a problem illegal immigration is, 81 percent of voters said they considered it important, including 27 percent who said it was one of the most pressing problems facing the country.

The poll also makes clear that voters make a distinction between legal and illegal immigrants: Asked if illegal immigrants had made a positive or negative contribution to their community, 36 percent said negative (21 percent said positive, 29 percent said the impact was not discernible).

When the same question was asked about legal immigrants, only 12 percent said their impact was negative.

(46 percent said positive, 31 percent said no discernible impact).

When those who said immigrants had a negative impact were asked precisely how, the reasons most often cited were increased crime (30 percent), loss of American jobs (35 percent) and increased cost of social services (19 percent).

Voters are divided about what the best solution is to the problem of illegal immigration, but a strong majority expressed support for a proposal discussed in Congress ? part of a package backed by President Bush ? that would create a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the U.S.

The plan, under which illegal immigrants could become citizens if they have no criminal record, register in the U.S., pay a fine, learn English and meet other requirements, was supported by 64 percent of Democratic voters and 62 percent of Republican voters.

However, that plan died in Congress under fire from critics who called for the U.S. to do more to tighten border security before considering liberalized treatment of illegal immigrants.