{"id":23687,"date":"2020-10-06T04:54:45","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T08:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=23687"},"modified":"2020-10-06T04:54:47","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T08:54:47","slug":"public-opinion-immigration-fact-fiction-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2020\/10\/06\/public-opinion-immigration-fact-fiction-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Immigration Polls Accurate or Just a Numbers Game?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ranking behind Sierra Leone and just ahead of Burkina Faso, the United States placed sixth on Gallup\u2019s latest \u201cMigrant Acceptance Index.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nindex is based on a three-part query: Are migrants living in your country,\nbecoming your neighbors and marrying into your families a good or bad thing?\nNinety percent of Americans surveyed said migrant neighbors are a positive.\nEighty-seven percent said migrants living in their country and marrying into\ntheir families (85 percent) are good too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAcceptance\nof migrants remained resolute and relatively unchanged from three years ago,\u201d\nGallup concluded. A point that gets overlooked is that the poll belies claims\nthat Americans are xenophobic or anti-immigrant. Moreover, acceptance of\nmigrants does not inherently translate into acceptance of mass migration on the\npart of the American public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two months earlier, the same polling company reported that U.S. support for expanded immigration hit record highs.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThirty-four\npercent of Americans, up from 27 percent a year ago, would prefer to see\nimmigration to the U.S. increased. Meanwhile, the percentage favoring decreased\nimmigration has fallen to a new low of 28 percent,\u201d Gallup said in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis\nmarks the first time the percentage wanting increased immigration has exceeded\nthe percentage who want decreased immigration,\u201d the pollster stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\nsuch swelling enthusiasm for newcomers, one might expect America to be rivaling\nCanada for top honors on Gallup\u2019s Migrant Acceptance Index, or at least\nclimbing the chart. But the U.S. ranking didn\u2019t budge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questioning the accuracy of Gallup\u2019s July survey, FAIR<\/a> pointed out that several other polls showed Americans supported pausing, not increasing, immigration. Moreover, even the Gallup poll results indicate that two-thirds of Americans do not want to see immigration increased. Similar doubts may apply to the methodology and reliability of the Migrant Acceptance Index, for what it\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also last month, Pew Research<\/a> released a poll purporting to find growing support for immigration among President Donald Trump\u2019s supporters. \u201cAbout a third (32 percent) say immigrants do more to strengthen society. This is a 13 percentage point increase from 19 percent in 2016,\u201d Pew stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That begs the question: Why would self-proclaimed supporters of the president change their minds about the signature issue that won their vote in 2016? This seems especially unlikely when, as the Center of Immigration Studies<\/a> notes, more than 12 million Americans are unemployed, and immigrant workers aren\u2019t faring any better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nthere\u2019s one certainty in all of this, it\u2019s that polls on immigration will\ncontinue spinning until Election Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ranking behind Sierra Leone and just ahead of Burkina Faso, the United States placed sixth on Gallup\u2019s latest \u201cMigrant Acceptance Index.\u201d The index is based on a three-part query: Are migrants living in your country, becoming your neighbors and marrying into your families a good or bad thing? Ninety percent of Americans surveyed said migrant<\/p>\n

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