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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid |
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WASHINGTON (By Janet Hook, LATimes)
June 12, 2007
— A strong majority of
Americans — including nearly two-thirds of Republicans — favors allowing
illegal immigrants to become citizens if they pay fines, learn English
and meet other requirements, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has
found.
That is a striking show of support for the central tenet of legislation
that has stalled in the Senate amid vocal opposition from conservatives
to provisions allowing such a path to citizenship.
Only 23% of adults surveyed opposed allowing immigrants to become legal.
That 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.
"They are willing to take jobs that our people aren't interested in, and
I think this helps the economy," Joseph Simpkins, a retired dry cleaner
in New Jersey who participated in the survey, said in a follow-up
interview. "As long as they pay taxes, I see nothing wrong with having
them become citizens."
The immigration bill, a priority for the White House, is languishing at
a time when Bush's approval ratings are at a new low: The poll found
that 34% approved of the job Bush was doing, the lowest approval rating
registered by the Los Angeles Times poll throughout his presidency.
Those and other poll findings paint a portrait of a pessimistic
electorate, distrustful of political and corporate leaders and unhappy
with the status quo at home and abroad. More than two-thirds of those
surveyed think the country is seriously on the wrong track, nearly
matching the highest level of pessimism since 1992.
Many blame U.S. oil companies and the Bush administration for high gas
prices. And they have a jaundiced view of corporate chieftains, seeing
them as overpaid and unethical.
"I don't know anyone who says, 'Wow! Things are going well,' " said
Patricia Clark, a homemaker in Harrisburg, Pa. "It's the
middle-of-the-road people like us who pay all the taxes and get hit with
high gas prices. I can understand why people don't vote."
Dissatisfaction with Bush is a big part of the sour mood. His 34%
approval rating is down sharply from 45% in September. Even among
Republicans, approval of Bush has dropped to 70%, from 83% in September.
His handling of the war in Iraq wins approval from 31%, and the poll
found increased support for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from
Iraq. A quarter of those questioned support bringing troops home right
away, up from 19% in January.
The perception that the country is not moving in the right direction is
more pervasive than in January, 2007, when only 61% said things were on
the wrong track; now 69% feel that way. Democrats are especially
pessimistic, but even among GOP respondents only 43% believe the country
is moving in the right direction.
Partisan divisions are particularly pronounced in voters' views of the
economy and their own financial condition: 82% of Republicans say the
economy is doing well, but only 44% of Democrats share that view. Only
14% of Republicans say they are worse off financially than three years
ago, compared with 34% of Democrats.
The poll also found a big gender gap in attitudes toward the economy,
with men far more optimistic than women. More than two-thirds of men
said the economy is doing well; only 49% of women agreed with that.
"Sure, there are people out of work, but I do feel our economy is doing
as well as I've ever seen it," said Harold Wells, a retired financial
planner in Michigan. "We have 4.5% unemployment, and the stock exchange
is at its highest in a while."
At a time when drivers around the country have felt the pinch of gas
prices soaring over $3 a gallon, people in the survey were most likely
to blame U.S. oil companies and the Bush administration rather than the
fluctuations of the marketplace. Although 12% said market forces were
responsible for the high price of gas, 38% blamed U.S. oil companies for
high prices and 21% blamed the Bush administration.
Corporate chiefs in general are viewed with suspicion, with 81% saying
chief executives are overpaid and 33% saying they are ethical.
National debate on immigration heated up in recent weeks as the Senate
has taken up — and last week blocked, at least for now — a Bush-backed
bill that would have overhauled immigration laws.
The bill aims to establish a pathway for illegal immigrants to become
citizens if they meet certain requirements. It would provide a guest
worker program to provide temporary visas for immigrant workers, and
create a point system for evaluating new immigrants that would put less
weight on family ties and more on applicants' skills and education.
Underscoring the urgency of the debate, 13% of those surveyed said
illegal immigration was not an important problem; 86% said it was an
important problem.
Although the pathway to citizenship was one of the most controversial
provisions of the Senate bill, the poll found the idea was backed by 63%
of those surveyed — even by 58% of those who identified themselves as
conservatives and 65% of Republicans.
The survey question specified that, under the proposal, citizenship
would be available only to those who register their presence in the
U.S., have no criminal record, pay a fine, get fingerprinted and learn
English, among other requirements. Those conditions helped ease concerns
among some Republicans who feared a less stringent policy would amount
to amnesty.
The guest worker program and the new visa point system did not draw as
much support, largely because those elements of the legislation were
less well known. Some 43% did not know enough about the point system to
have an opinion; 25% did not know enough about the guest worker program
to have an opinion.
