Fox Gets it Right on Immigration Polling… CNN, Not So Much.

America's Voice Blog

Posted 08/17/10 at 03:07pm

Nope. That was not a typo.

A new poll from Fox News finds that 68 percent of voters, including majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, say efforts to secure the border should be combined with reform of federal immigration laws by Congress. What do voters mean by reform of federal immigration laws? Sixty-eight percent “favor allowing illegal immigrants who pay taxes and obey the law to stay in the United States.”

In short, voters want a “both/and” approach to immigration reform, which is the essence of comprehensive immigration reform. Here’s their short analysis:

While more voters think the government should secure the border first (21 percent) than pass new immigration laws (7 percent), most -- 68 percent -- say both should be done at the same time. That includes majorities of Democrats (72 percent), independents (67 percent) and Republicans (65 percent).

The Fox poll also found that “a 61 percent majority of voters think it is ‘impossible to seal the border’ so there will always be illegal immigrants…. About two-thirds of voters (68 percent) favor allowing illegal immigrants who pay taxes and obey the law to stay in the United States, little changed from 67 percent who favored doing so in 2007.”

Let's compare that to polls that were conducted by CNN in May and July that presented an “either/or” choice.

Here's their question, which was deceptively worded:

What should be the main focus of the U.S. government in dealing with the issue of illegal immigration -- developing a plan that would allow illegal immigrants who have jobs to become legal U.S. residents, or developing a plan for stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. and for deporting those already here?

As if they could have only one or the other, 42 percent favor a path to legal status and 57 percent favor stopping the flow of illegal immigrants. Read the poll a little further and buried is the fact that 81 percent of those surveyed favor "creating a program that would allow illegal immigrants already living in the United States for a number of years to stay here and apply to legally remain in this country permanently if they had a job and paid back taxes."

Wow. Sloppy reporting, to say the least...

The Fox result is not a fluke. Recent polling conducted by Lake Research Partners and Public Opinion Strategies for America’s Voice found that while a majority of those who took the poll supported the Arizona ‘papers please’ immigration law, the same people actually favored comprehensive reform by a greater margin than opponents of the Arizona law. A whopping 84% of those who voiced support for the Arizona law also support comprehensive immigration reform. The fact is voters favor action, but strongly favor immigration reform that combines smart enforcement with legal status for those already here. These findings were echoed in other surveys.

When given the option to have both border security and a path to legal status for the 11 million undocumented immigrants settled in America, voters are overwhelmingly for it. It's not only the most popular choice, but it's also the most workable solution to the problem. With that said, it’s time for Republicans to stop the mindless presentation of false choices. It’s time for Democrats to lean into this issue and do so with conviction. It’s time for Washington do the popular thing, which in this case, happens to be the right thing.