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Poll shows concerns of granting legal status to illegal immigrants
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Numbers from a new survey by Zogby International shows that people in Mexico believe that granting legal status to illegal immigrants would encourage more illegal immigration to the United States.
The results are on the Center for Immigration Studies' Web site:
http://cis.org/ZogbyPoll-EffectsOfAmnesty .
Among the findings:
- * A clear majority of people in Mexico, 56 percent, believe giving legal status to illegal immigrants in the United States would make it more likely that people they know would go to the United States illegally.
Just 17 percent thought it would make Mexicans less likely to go illegally. The rest were unsure or thought it would have no difference. - * Of Mexicans with a member of their immediate household in the United States, 65 percent indicated a legalization program would make people they know more likely to go to America illegally.
- * Two-thirds of Mexicans know someone living in the United States; one-third said an immediate member of their household was living in the United States.
- * Interest in going to the United States remains strong even with the current recession, with 36 percent of Mexicans (39 million people) saying they would relocate to the United States if possible. This is
consistent with a recent Pew Research Center poll which reported that about one-third of Mexicans would go to the United States if they could. At present, 12 to 13 million Mexico-born people live in the United States.
- * An overwhelming majority (69 percent) 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 feel the Mexican government should represent the interests of Mexican-Americans (Mexico- and U.S.-born) in the United States.
- * A plurality, 39 percent, of Mexicans thought that in the last year less people they know had gone to the United States as illegal immigrants compared to previous years. Only 27 percent thought more had gone. The rest thought it had stayed the same or were unsure.
- * A plurality, 40 percent, also thought that in the last year more of the illegal immigrants they know had returned to Mexico compared to previous years. Only 25 percent thought the number returning had fallen. The rest thought it had stayed the same or were unsure.
* Both the bad economy and increased immigration enforcement were noted as reasons less people were going to America as illegal immigrants and more were coming back to Mexico.
While the perspective of Mexicans for this discussion is of importance since the country sends more legal and illegal immigrants to this country than anyone else, this problem needs to be decided in the United States.
Both prospective employees in this country and law enforcement are greatly impacted by the flood of illegals coming into the U.S., and not just those from Mexico.
As many of our parents and grandparents legally came through Ellis Island decades ago, we should continue to ask that anyone wanting to come to the U.S. in 2009 and beyond does it legally.
Yes, it is understandable why many people leave Mexico and other venues to come here in hopes of starting a new life.
At the end of the day, however, our government should be most concerned with taking care of the people who were either born here or came here legally.
Given the risks of terrorism that this country faces, we should also be providing as many resources as needed at both the Mexican and Canadian borders to law enforcement so that they can nip potential problems in the bud.
For more on immigration to the U.S., visit: http://www.examiner.com/x-17495-San-Diego-Immigration-Policy-Examiner
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