immigration poll

Immigration polls

The following is a partial list of the immigration polls - or polls featuring one or more immigration-related questions - that we've covered. Most polls on this topic aren't that reliable because they ask open-ended or misleading questions that frequently fail to disclose all the details of a specific issue. Only questions that ask about a very specific topic and that are asked of those familiar with that topic should be trusted.

Last modified Jul 17, 2010
Discussed in (click each link for the full post):

Deceptive Langer Research DACA poll for ABC - 09/25/17

Allison De Jong of ABC News posts "Americans back DACA by a huge margin" [1], about a Langer Research poll commissioned by ABC. It finds 86% support part of DACA, including large numbers of whites and Republicans. Respondents were asked:

2002 Zogby poll: 58% of Mexicans think U.S. Southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico - 07/06/17

These are the results of a Zogby poll from 2002. Many of the links about the poll have since vanished, so I'll reprint the results here. The original page at the group that commissioned it is archived at [1]. From [2]:

Morning Consult survey deceives about DREAMers (Cameron Easley) - 06/16/17

At Morning Consult, Cameron Easley blogs "Poll: Trump’s Decision on Dreamers Is a Popular One - Even Among His Base" [1]. That conclusion is based on an immigration poll that offered respondents a false choice.

Deceptive FWD US 2014 immigration poll (Mark Zuckerberg, Kellyanne Conway, Whit Ayres) - 08/23/16

In June 2014, FWD US - a group Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and others started to push a high immigration agenda - released "Poll By 10 Prominent GOP Pollsters Shows Americans Overwhelmingly Support Action On Immigration" [1].

Larry Kudlow is still not in touch with reality on immigration - 05/23/14

Larry Kudlow offers "Immigration reform is pro-growth and pro-GOP" (cnbc . com/id/101685285). I'll briefly describe how it's wrong and what he's intentionally or not ignoring. He writes:

Bogus Gallup poll does not show more support for mass immigration legalization - 02/17/14

Do the latest results of a Gallup poll (link) show that the public is moving more towards support of mass legalization of illegal aliens? While those with a pro-comprehensive immigration reform agenda might like to think that or make you think that, the answer is no. Not only that, but Gallup itself is showing their bias by misleading about the interpretation of their own results. Five times since 2006, Gallup has been asking this question:

Another misleading Public Religion Research Institute immigration poll (Saperstein, Preston, CNN) - 11/25/13

The Public Religion Research Institute describes itself in the highest terms possible [1]:

How the American Action Network immigration poll misleads (Steve King, Iowa) - 07/24/13

The American Action Network ("AAN") has released an immigration poll that claims to show support for amnesty in the Iowa district of U.S. Rep. Steve King.

Can Caroline Horn get anything right? (CBS News, immigration) - 06/21/13

Caroline Horn of CBS News offers "Are pro-immigration reform Republicans hurting their 2016 chances?" ( peekURL.com/z3LwV8J ). It's not clear whether she's intentionally trying to deceive her readers or whether she's just a sloppy reporter, but let's take a look. She writes:

How the Reason Rupe poll misleads on immigration amnesty (Emily Elkins, Ed Morrissey) - 03/02/13

Ed Morrissey of HotAir will grasp at any straw to support amnesty, and the latest is "Reason-Rupe poll shows majority approves path to citizenship, oppose targeted drone killings of Americans" [1] referring to a poll by Reason Magazine [2]. That poll obtains its result by misleading; here's the question that was asked with the results:

How CBS immigration poll misleads (legalization, amnesty, Cirilli, Mataconis, Moran) - 01/29/13

If I said we should require all illegal aliens to leave, what would you say? I'd imagine most people would laugh and say, "how? Illegal aliens shouldn't be here in the first place. It's not like we could wave a magic wand and 'require' them to leave." And, that explains why a new immigration poll from CBS News misleads (link).

Half of Mexicans have unfavorable image of Americans - 01/13/13

The Pew Research Global Attitudes Project shows that Mexicans - the largest immigrant group to the U.S. - don't like Americans all that much.

64% support Obama's anti-American DREAM Act amnesty? (Bloomberg, immigration, poll) - 06/19/12

A new Bloomberg immigration poll contends that 64% of likely voters approve of Obama enacting a version of the anti-American DREAM Act (link):

Poll: majority supports Mitt Romney on immigration, including 24% of Hispanics - 04/19/12

A Quinnipiac University poll [1] asked "Regardless of how you intend to vote, who do you think would do a better job - on immigration, Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?" Here are the results:

Poll: GOP obsesses over spending, downplays much more important immigration issue - 04/17/12

The chart below [1] shows that the GOP has become a party of crazed accountants, obsessing over the budget deficit. At the same time, the immigration issue has become less important to the GOP. That's despite immigration - which determines who lives in the U.S. and who votes - being a far more vital and fundamental issue than spending. Deficits can be reduced in future years with increased economic activity and other means, but immigration is forever and ever and ever.

Poll: 61% oppose California driver's licenses for illegal aliens (51% of Hispanics & Democrats oppose) - 02/28/12

California state assemblyman Gil Cedillo has yet again introduced a bill to give drivers licenses to give illegal aliens.

Public Religion Research Institute's misleading poll (immigration, DREAM Act, Brookings Institution) - 09/06/11

The Public Religion Research Institute ("PRRI") has released a poll called "What it Means to be American: Attitudes in an Increasingly Diverse America Ten Years after 9/11" (publicreligion.org/research/?id=680) which includes a few questions about immigration. I'll explain how two of the poll questions are misleading (see immigration poll for other misleading polls about this issue).

Andrea Nill not exactly honest about DREAM Act (Sharron Angle ad) - 10/06/10

Andrea Nill of ThinkProgress responds to the new Sharron Angle ad with a somewhat misleading post about the anti-American DREAM Act. The Angle ad is here; the Nill post is at [1]. Nill writes: The ad appears to be vaguely referencing the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act which Reid attached to the defense reauthorization bill last month as an amendment. The DREAM Act wouldn’t give undocumented students special tuition rates, but it would eliminate a federal provision that penalizes states that provide in-state tuition without regard to immigration status. Angle’s...

Pew: "immigration does not rank as a top voting issue for Hispanics" - 10/05/10

From a new Pew Hispanic poll (link): When Arizona enacted an unauthorized immigrant enforcement bill earlier this year, the immigration policy debate reignited across the country. Even so, the new survey shows that immigration does not rank as a top voting issue for Hispanics. Rather, they rank education, jobs and health care as their top three issues of concern for this year's congressional campaign. Immigration ranks as the fifth most important issue for Latino registered voters and as the fourth most important issue for all Latinos. However, the survey finds that two-thirds (66%) of Latino...

Misleading Politico immigration poll, spun by Mark Penn - 08/16/10

The Politico has released a poll [1] that asked people to choose from the following two choices (graphic with results below). The second choice is mostly clear-cut, but the first choice - to the extent it makes any sense at all - is open to multiple interpretations. Taken together, the poll question and the results are mostly meaningless: Q. Which is closest to your views regarding immigration reform? 1. Congress needs to pass comprehensive immigration law guidelines now. 2. Congress should take no action and allow states to pass restrictions on illegal immigration. Amnesty is usually called...

CBS poll: support for Arizona immigration law at 74% - 07/14/10

According to a new CBS News poll (link), support for the new Arizona immigration law is at a very high 74%: * 57% say the law is "about right" * 17% say the law "doesn't go far enough" Contrast that with 23% who say it "goes too far".

Gallup poll: Hispanics 2-to-1 for Democrats both before and after Arizona immigration law - 06/11/10

From a new Gallup poll (link): Hispanic voters nationwide haven't shifted their congressional voting preferences since the signing of Arizona's new immigration law on April 23. Their preference for the Democratic candidate over the Republican candidate, 61% to 32%, in April 23 to June 8 interviewing almost identically matches the 60% to 32% margin recorded between March 1 and April 22. White voters and black voters also haven't changed their voting intentions. Bear in mind, of course, that this was a nationwide poll and wasn't of, say, Mexican-Americans in Arizona or Southern California....

Misleading Lake Research, America's Voice immigration poll (DailyKos) - 05/25/10

Another day, another misleading immigration poll. This one is from Lake Research for Frank Sharry's America's Voice. It's promoted by Kos of DailyKos at [1]. And, one wonders what the game is: why promote misleading polls when all they do is give a false sense that something's popular when it isn't? Since many of the consumers of the poll will be on Kos' side, why is he trying to mislead them? Or, is it just that he can't figure out how the poll is misleading? The only question we need to look at is this, which got a whopping 78% of support: Now I'd like to read you a description of...

SEIU, NCLR release incredibly deceptive immigration poll (Andrea Nill, Arizona) - 05/15/10

The Service Employees International Union and the National Council of La Raza have released a new immigration poll of likely voters in Arizona [1], specifically asking about that state's new law and about

Questionable NCLR poll: 81% of Latinos oppose Arizona immigration law; plays race card - 05/11/10

The National Council of La Raza and others [1] recently released a poll [2] making the claim that 70% of Latinos "strongly oppose" the new Arizona immigration law, with 11% in the "somewhat oppose" camp. Their findings are a bit questionable considering the results to the first question "What do you think are the most important issues that President Obama and the Congress should address over the next year?" Respondents were allowed to choose two of these: Immigration 59% Fix the economy 22% Health Care 17% Create more jobs 13% Education 5% War on terror 4% Banking reform 2% Those results seem...

Dan Schnur misleads about USC's misleading poll (Los Angeles Times, immigration) - 04/08/10

A few days ago, I discussed how a new Los Angeles Times / University of Southern California poll was designed to mislead. It not only presented a false choice about immigration, but it made one question deliberately unworkable (denying "emergency room treatment" to illegal aliens) in order to force people to choose one of the other, more amnesty-friendly options. Now, [1] Dan Schnur of USC takes to the pages of the Los Angeles Times and misleads about the already-misleading poll ("A sea change in attitudes toward illegal immigration?", link, bolding added): In 1994, Proposition 187 passed...

Greenberg Quinlan Rosner/ LAT / USC poll designed to mislead; has immigration false choice - 04/03/10

A new "American Viewpoint" poll from the Los Angeles Times and the University of Southern California - conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner - can be accessed at gqrr.com/index.php?ID=2437, with a report here. Like others listed in immigration poll, it offers a false choice about the options available to us. These are the only three options that people were given for the "IMMIBAT" question (numbering and results added): 1. Implement stronger enforcement at the border and prohibit those here illegally from benefiting from any taxpayer funded social services, including emergency room treatment...

Poll: church members disagree with religious leaders' support for amnesty, massive immigration - 12/29/09

From this: In contrast to many national religious leaders who are lobbying for increases in immigration numbers, a new Zogby poll of likely voters who belong to the same religious communities finds strong support for reducing overall immigration. Moreover, the poll finds that members strongly disagree with their leaders’ contention that more immigrant workers need to be allowed into the country. Also, most parishioners and congregants advocate for more enforcement to cause illegal workers to go home, while most religious leaders are calling for putting illegal immigrants on a path to U.S....

68% oppose sanctuary cities, only 13% support; 49% think their funds should be cut - 11/05/09

From a Rasmussen immigration poll from last month (link): 68% of U.S. voters oppose the creation of sanctuary cities. Only 13% favor the creation of cities that give safe haven to illegal immigrants. Nineteen percent (19%) are not sure. Forty-nine percent (49%) say federal and state government funds should be cut off to cities that provide sanctuary to illegal immigrants. Thirty-three percent (33%) disagree and oppose any funding cutoff. Eighteen percent (18%) aren’t sure. Fifty percent (50%) of voters say sanctuary policies that protect illegal immigrants lead to an increase in crime. Just...

CNN poll: 73% want illegal immigration decreased; - 10/22/09

From this: Seventy-three percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday morning called for a drop in the number of illegal immigrants, with 22 percent saying the number should remain the same and just 3 percent stating that there should be an increase in the number of illegal immigrants. That 73 percent figure is the highest number since CNN started asking this question four years ago. According to the poll, 37 percent want to see all illegal immigrants deported, also the highest number since the questions was first asked in 2006, and another 23...

Zogby poll: 69% of Mexicans think immigrants should be loyal to Mexico; most say immigration "reform" would increase illegal immigration - 10/14/09

A Zogby poll done of Mexicans in Mexico is discussed here. They seem to have buried the lede, so I'll put that shocking revelation first: * An overwhelming majority (69 percent) of people in Mexico thought that the primary loyalty of Mexican-Americans (Mexico- and U.S.-born) should be to Mexico. Just 20 percent said it should be to the United States. The rest were unsure. * Also, 69 percent of people in Mexico felt that the Mexican government should represent the interests of Mexican-Americans (Mexico- and U.S.-born) in the United States. Certainly, some of those who thought that Mexican...

Gallup poll: 50% of Americans want immigration decreased (was 39% last year) - 08/09/09

According to Gallup (link): Half (50%) say immigration should be decreased, up from 39% last year. A third (32%) say immigration levels should be kept the same, down from 39%, and 14% say they should be increased, down from 18%... Currently, 58% say [immigration] is a good thing -- the lowest percentage saying so since 2003. The historical low for this measure, 52%, came in 2002, after the 9/11 attacks. Not only that, but 44% of Democrats and 46% of independents want immigration decreased.

Poll: 86% support immigration "reform" (as described). I.e., MSM lies are working, opponents need to work smarter (Kos, Frank Sharry) - 06/04/09

Over at the DailyKos, Kos informs us [1] that Frank Sharry's "America's Voice" commissioned Benenson Strategy Group to conduct a poll about comprehensive immigration re

Angela Kelley/CAP, Gary Langer/ABC News admit: immigration "reform" is amnesty - 05/12/09

One of the games that illegal immigration supporters like to play is to pretend that comprehensive immigration reform isn't amnesty; they use a variety of misleading euphemisms, such as "earned legalization" and so on. But, sometimes the mask slips, as it did with Angela Kelley of the Center for American Progress. Referring to the recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, she says (americanprogress.org/issues/2009/05/immigration_friends.html): In fact, in the poll a majority of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, moderates, and conservatives supported an Amnesty Program. "Seven in 10 liberals...

Washington Post /ABC News poll shows 61% favor illegal alien legalization; didn't ask about citizenship - 05/12/09

Last month, the Washington Post and ABC News conducted a telephone poll that included this question (link): Would you support or oppose a program giving ILLEGAL immigrants now living in the United States the right to live here LEGALLY if they pay a fine and meet other requirements? 61% supported that vs. 35% against, up from 49/46, 51/44, and 52/44 in the second half of 2007. The uptick in support is slightly worrisome, as is the fact that this poll can be spun as supportive of comprehensive immigration reform when it doesn't include a main component of most CIR plans: a "path to citizenship...

Pew Hispanic poll: immigration far eclipsed by economy - 01/15/09

A new Pew Hispanic poll provides some evidence that immigration issues aren't as vital an issue to Latinos as hacks try to tell us. The summary and PDF with the full results is here. Here are the percentages for "extremely important": 57%: The economy 51%: Education 45%: Healthcare 43%: National security 33%: The environment 31%: Immigration 20%: Energy policy Note that two surveys were conducted, and all adults Latinos were eligible. Thus, the persons answering that question could be Puerto Ricans, native born Mexican-Americans, legal immigrants, illegal aliens, or so on. Further...

30% of Mexicans think U.S. was behind 9/11 attacks (second highest behind Turkey) - 09/18/08

A recent World Public Opinion survey ([1]) shows that 30% of Mexicans think the United States was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the second highest percentage in the entire survey, just behind Turkey at 36%. 33% said it was al Qaeda, 1% Israel, and 37% were Other or Don't Know.

55 percent of Mexican-Americans consider themselves Mexicans first - 04/27/06

I don't have an original link for this, but according to "The menace of multiculturalism": A poll for the Pew Hispanic Center finds that 55 percent of Americans of Mexican descent consider themselves Mexicans first. A similar study of Muslim immigrants in Los Angeles finds that only 10 percent think of themselves as Americans rather than citizens of the countries they abandoned for new lives here.

Mexicans: Americans are lazy, racist exploiters - 03/21/06

You're probably not likely to read about the latest Zogby poll in the usual sources since it tends to cast a great deal of doubt on those who support massive illegal immigration from Mexico. Namely, is it wise to import millions of people who have a low opinion of Americans? Why not import people who have a high opinion of America and support our people and our system? Why ask for trouble when it's not really necessary?

How out of touch is Morton Kondracke? - 01/10/06

MorTON! offers "Bush Must Talk Sense To Republicans On Immigration". He starts with a bad title and goes downhill: the ones who need sense are Bush's handlers and the corrupt elites that favor massive illegal immigration. Believe it or not, Morton wants Bush to co-opt Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Hugh Hewitt and Laura Ingraham, so that those fine hosts can then turn around and explain the wisdom of Bush's plans to the great unwashed out there beyond the beltway. Unfortunately, Kondracke doesn't discuss what those hosts would do when their ratings started to plummet. And, he...

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