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GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- The White House is considering several new proposals on immigration. One that has drawn considerable attention this week would grant permanent legal resident status to some three million Mexicans who immigrated to the United States illegally. A recent 黑料网 poll shows that most Americans believe immigration is good for the country in general, but can cite few specific areas in which immigration makes the country better. Additionally, Americans are more likely to say that immigration levels in this country should be decreased or kept at their present level, rather than being increased. Hispanics living in the United States express more positive views on immigration than do blacks or whites, but even among Hispanics only 33% believe immigration levels should be increased.

According to the poll, conducted June 11-17, 2001, and including larger samples of blacks and Hispanics, 62% of Americans think that immigration is a good thing for this country, while 31% think it is a bad thing. Hispanics are more inclined to say immigration is good for the country (73%) than are blacks (61%) or whites (62%).

Americans are even more positive about immigration when contemplating the past. Seventy-five percent of Americans say immigration has been a good thing for the United States in the past and less than one in five think it has been a bad thing. In this regard, whites are as positive about immigration as are Hispanics, while blacks are much less so.

Immigrants Thought to Worsen Crime, Schools and Taxes

Despite these positive general assessments, Americans are fairly critical about the effect immigration has had on the country in several areas. Among nine areas tested, on only one -- food, music and the arts -- do a majority of Americans say that immigration has made the situation better. In every other area, more Americans say that the immigration has made the situation worse rather than better, although a significant number also say that immigration has had no effect. The perception of a negative impact is strongest with respect to crime, the quality of public schools, taxes and job opportunities. Americans are more divided on immigration's effect on the economy, politics and government, and social and moral values.

For each of the following areas, please say whether immigrants to the United States are making the situation in the country better or worse, or not having much effect?

June 11-17, 2001

In stark contrast to whites and blacks, Hispanics think immigration has improved the situation in the United States in all areas except crime, and in general are much more positive in their assessment of immigration than are blacks and whites. Whites and blacks generally see things similarly, but whites are slightly more critical of the effects of immigration on crime, public schools, and social and moral values. Blacks think immigration has had a positive influence on social and moral values. Blacks, however, are more likely to see immigration as having a negative effect on the economy.

Percent Believing Immigration Has Made Situation "Better" Minus Percent Believing Immigration Has Made Situation "Worse"

2001 Jun 11-17 (sorted by "national adults")	National Adults	Non-Hispanic Whites	Blacks	Hispanics
Food, music, and the arts	+50	+51	+44	+69
The overall quality of life	+6	+4	+2	+48
The economy in general	0	-2	-12	+19
Social and moral values	-1	-5	+6	+28
Politics and government	-1	-5	-4	+26
Job opportunities for you and family	-16	-18	-18	+24
The quality of public schools	-22	-25	-16	+26
Taxes	-34	-35	-38	+14
The crime situation	-43	-46	-35	-35

Note: Positive scores mean situation is better, negative scores means situation is worse.

Ironically, despite the credit Americans give to immigrants for their cultural contributions, a majority (58%) feels immigrants should be encouraged to blend into American culture rather than maintain their own culture. Opinion on this matter varies by racial and ethnic group. Whites are most in favor of immigrants blending into American culture, by a 61% to 31% margin. Blacks are more likely to believe that immigrants should maintain their own culture, but still a plurality say that immigrants should adopt American culture (48% to 43%). Among Hispanics, however, more believe that immigrants should maintain their own culture (49%) than blend into American culture (45%).

Few Americans Want Immigration Levels Increased

The poll also shows a division in sentiment about immigration levels -- 42 % of Americans believe immigration should be kept at its present level, and 41% favor a decrease. Only 14% say it should be increased. There has been little change in this sentiment in recent years, but in the mid 1990s, a majority of Americans preferred decreases in immigration levels. In 1993 and 1995, about two-thirds of the public, substantially more than the current 41%, wanted immigration decreased.

In your view, should immigration be kept at its present level, increased or decreased?

Hispanics are most likely to say that immigration levels should be increased (33%), but a plurality of Hispanics (38%) believes that the current level should be maintained, and one in four Hispanics think immigration levels should be decreased (25%). Among blacks, a plurality (42%) thinks that immigration levels should be kept as they are, while 31% think they should be decreased and 24% think they should be increased. A slight plurality of whites (45%) says that immigration levels should be decreased, while 42% think they should be kept at their current level and only 10% think they should be increased.

View On Immigration by Race/Ethnic Group

June 11-17, 2001

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,375 adults, 18 years and older, including a main sample of 1,004 national adults and oversamples of blacks and Hispanics. Telephone interviews were conducted from June 11-17, 2001. An additional night of interviewing on June 18 was conducted for the black oversample. For results based on the total sample of 1,004 national adults, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Results based on the subsample of blacks include interviews with 264 black national adults and have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 7 percentage points. Results based on the subsample of Hispanics include interviews with 247 Hispanic national adults (including 59 conducted in Spanish) and have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 7 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Thinking some more about immigrants -- that is, people who come from other countries to live here in the United States,

In your view, should immigration be kept at its present level, increased or decreased?

 

 

	Present level	Increased	Decreased	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	42	14	41	3
Men	41	15	41	3
Women	43	12	42	3
Non-Hispanic Whites	42	10	45	3
Blacks	42	24	31	3
Hispanics	38	33	25	4

 

 

NATIONAL ADULT TREND

 

 

	Present level	Increased	Decreased	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17	42	14	41	3
2001 Mar 26-28	41	10	43	6
2000 Sep 11-13	41	13	38	8
1999 Feb 26-28 ^	41	10	44	5
1995 Jul 7-9	27	7	62	4
1995 Jun 5-6	24	7	65	4
1993 Jul 9-11	27	6	65	2
1986 Jun 19-23 †	35	7	49	9
1977 Mar 25-28	37	7	42	14
1965 Jun 24-29	39	7	33	20
^ Based on 514 national adults; margin of error ± 5 PCT. PTS.
† CBS/NYT

On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?

 

 

	Good thing	Bad thing	MIXED (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	62	31	5	2
Men	68	28	2	2
Women	57	33	7	3
Non-Hispanic Whites	62	32	4	2
Blacks	61	28	7	4
Hispanics	73	18	2	7

On the whole, do you think immigration has been a good thing or a bad thing for the United States in the past?

 

	Good thing	Bad thing	MIXED (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	75	19	4	2
Men	81	15	3	1
Women	69	23	5	3
Non-Hispanic Whites	75	19	4	2
Blacks	63	27	7	3
Hispanics	75	17	2	6

Which do you think is better for the United States -- [ROTATED: to encourage immigrants to blend into American culture by giving up some important aspects of their own culture, or to encourage immigrants to maintain their own culture more strongly, even if that means they do not blend in as well]?

 

	Blend in	Maintain own culture more	BOTH/EQUALLY (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	58	34	5	3
Men	59	34	4	3
Women	57	34	5	4
Non-Hispanic Whites	61	31	5	3
Blacks	48	43	4	5
Hispanics	45	49	2	4

NATIONAL ADULT TREND

 

	Blend in	Maintain own culture more	BOTH/EQUALLY (vol.)	No opinion
2001 Jun 11-17	58%	34	5	3
1995 Jun 5-6	59%	32	3	6

For each of the following areas, please say whether immigrants to the United States are making the situation in the country better or worse, or not having much effect. How about -- [ITEM A, THEN ITEMS B-I ROTATED]?

A. The overall quality of life

 

	Better	Worse	Not having much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	30	24	41	5
Men	35	19	41	5
Women	26	28	41	5
Non-Hispanic Whites	28	27	41	4
Blacks	27	25	44	4
Hispanics	58	10	27	5

B. The quality of public schools

 

	Better	Worse	Not having much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	18	40	37	5
Men	19	38	38	5
Women	17	42	35	6
Non-Hispanic Whites	16	43	36	5
Blacks	20	36	40	4
Hispanics	48	22	24	6

C. The crime situation

 

	Better	Worse	Not having much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	7	50	38	5
Men	8	48	39	5
Women	6	52	37	5
Non-Hispanic Whites	5	54	37	4
Blacks	9	44	41	6
Hispanics	12	47	33	8

D. Job opportunities for you and your family

 

	Better	Worse	Not having much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	15	31	50	4
Men	17	29	49	5
Women	13	34	51	2
Non-Hispanic Whites	12	32	53	3
Blacks	20	38	41	1
Hispanics	42	18	37	3

E. Food, music, and the arts

 

	Better	Worse	Not having much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	58	8	29	5
Men	63	6	25	6
Women	55	9	32	4
Non-Hispanic Whites	59	8	28	5
Blacks	54	10	33	3
Hispanics	72	3	23	2

F. The economy in general

 

	Better	Worse	Not having much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	32	32	31	5
Men	38	26	32	4
Women	26	38	30	6
Non-Hispanic Whites	29	34	32	5
Blacks	27	39	31	3
Hispanics	42	23	29	6

G. Taxes

 

	Better	Worse	Not having much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	12	46	34	8
Men	16	41	35	8
Women	9	51	32	8
Non-Hispanic Whites	10	48	34	8
Blacks	12	50	32	6
Hispanics	40	26	25	9

H. Politics and government

 

	Better	Worse	Not having much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	23	24	47	6
Men	24	22	48	6
Women	21	26	47	6
Non-Hispanic Whites	20	26	48	6
Blacks	23	27	43	7
Hispanics	42	16	32	10

I. Social and moral values

 

	Better	Worse	Not having much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Jun 11-17
National Adults	25	26	45	4
Men	26	24	47	3
Women	23	27	44	6
Non-Hispanic Whites	22	29	45	4
Blacks	26	20	50	4
Hispanics	45	17	34	4

(vol.) – volunteered response