Pollaganda: LAT says 63% support "path to citizenship"

Ah, pollaganda. Janet Hook screams "Large majority supports path to citizenship" about a new LAT/Bloomberg poll (link). Not only is that highly misleading, the Los Angeles Times is... wait for it... acting as a cheerleader for Bush:

Only 23% of adults surveyed opposed allowing undocumented immigrants to gain legal status. That finding bolsters the view, shared by President Bush, that the bill's opponents represent a vocal minority whereas most people are more welcoming toward illegal immigrants.

Now, let's take a look at the questions that were asked (PDF at first link):

Q50. One proposal would allow undocumented immigrants who have been living and working in the United States for a number of years, and who do not have a criminal record, to start on a path to citizenship by registering that they are in the country, paying a fine, getting fingerprinted, and learning English, among other requirements. Do you support or oppose this, or haven't you heard enough about it to say?

I don't know which proposal that refers to, but it's not the Bush/Senate plan. That would give virtually every illegal alien who'd been here since January probationary status and almost all of those would then go ahead to get on the "path to citizenship". The previous Senate bill had different plans for those who'd been here varying amounts of time, but not so with with current Senate bill. And, of course, "a number of years" is extremely vague; did they mean 2 years, 5 years, 10 years? Whatever they meant, "a number of years" isn't the same as "before this January". And, they don't have to actually learn English, they only have to sign up. And, just because someone doesn't have a criminal record doesn't mean that they haven't committed crimes such as identity theft. And, of course, "undocumented immigrants" is so much more of a comfy phrase than the legally accurate "illegal aliens".

Q51. One proposal is to create a "guest worker" program that would give a temporary visa to non-citizens who want to work legally in the United States. Do you support or oppose this, or haven't you heard enough about it to say?

As discussed here many times, those "guests" would be here permanently, either as permanent temporaries, or as former "guests" who would eventually be put on the "path to citizenship".

Bottom line: the Los Angeles Times is lying to you.

UPDATE: Heidi Przybyla of Bloomberg offers the falsely-titled "Most Americans Back Stalled Senate Immigration Bill, Poll Shows". It leads with a false statement:

Most Americans support central elements of the legislation overhauling U.S. immigration laws the Senate shelved last week after it failed to gain sufficient support from lawmakers.

That isn't just misleading, it's a lie for the reasons outlined above.

Wed, 06/13/2007 - 07:33 · · Importance: 1