Poll: Most Americans Favor Favor Legal Status For Undocumented Immigrants

A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that 72 percent of Americans favor allowing undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. if they meet specific requirements. The poll asked more than 2,000 adults about their opinions on how issues surrounding undocumented immigrants should be handled. The survey also recorded answers to opinion-based questions about the impact undocumented immigrants have on the economy, politics and society based on the respondent’s age, ethnicity and political affiliation.

Undocumented Immigrants Poll Asks About Residency Options

The survey used telephone interviews with 2,002 adult respondents, conducted the week of May 12-18, 2015. The poll showed that 42 percent of respondents favored granting undocumented immigrants a path toward full U.S. citizenship. About one-fourth of respondents said that the legal status of undocumented immigrants should be limited to permanent residency. Among Hispanic respondents, 86 percent favored allowing undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S., with 54 percent agreeing that they should be able to obtain citizenship.

Opinions on Undocumented Immigrants Split Along Party Lines

The poll also examined how the respondents’ political views influenced their outlook on undocumented immigrants. Among Republican respondents, only 56 percent favored the idea of allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status. On the Democratic side, 83 percent of respondents agreed with granting legal status to qualified undocumented immigrants. When asked to rate their party’s actions toward immigration, just over half of those who identified as Democrats said that their party handles immigration issues well, while only a third of Republicans favored their party’s immigration policies.

Attitudes Toward Undocumented Immigrants

The survey also asked respondents if they viewed undocumented immigrants as a strength or a burden. Only 51 percent stated that they believed the presence of undocumented immigrants strengthened the country, compared to 57 percent last year. The majority of Democrats (62 percent) and independents (57 percent) believed that immigrants strengthened the country, while 63 percent of Republicans considered undocumented workers a burden on the educational, welfare and health care systems.

Is Legal Status “Reward” for Undocumented Immigrants?

Another question involved asking respondents if granting legal status to undocumented immigrants was effectively rewarding them for illegal actions. Out of all respondents, only 36 percent agreed that allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status is a reward for unlawful entry into the U.S. Nearly 60 percent of Republican respondents considered granting legal status a reward for illegal behavior, compared to a third of independents and only 23 percent of Democrats.

Source: Pew Research Center

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