With the U.S. Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments in the U.S. v Texas immigration executive action case on Monday, new nationwide polling of Latino voters underscores the political stakes of the Republican backlash against DACA and DAPA. Conducted by Latino Decisions on behalf of America’s Voice, the full results, as well as statewide results from Colorado, Florida, and Nevada, will be unveiled next week.
Today, we highlight the key findings regarding how Latino voters view the issue of executive action and the positions of the two parties.
KEY FINDINGS
- Anger at Republicans for opposing DAPA: Knowing that Republican presidential candidates want to end DAPA, the 2014 executive action that would protect the undocumented parents of American children, makes Latino voters “less likely,” rather than “more likely,” to vote for the Republican Party this November by a 74%-14% margin.
- Anger at Republicans for opposing DACA: Knowing that Republican presidential candidates want to end DACA, the 2012 executive action that protects Dreamers, makes Latino voters “less likely,” rather than “more likely,” to vote for the Republican Party this November by a 73%-12% margin.
- Support for Democrats for defending DAPA: Knowing that Democratic presidential candidates want to continue DAPA makes Latino voters “more likely,” rather than “less likely,” to vote for the Democratic Party this November by a 74%-15% margin.
- Support for Democrats for defending DACA: Knowing that Democratic presidential candidates want to continue DACA makes Latino voters “more likely,” rather than “”less likely,” to vote for the Democratic Party this November by a 74%-13% margin.
ADDITIONAL FINDINGS
- Latino voters view the Republican Party as increasing hostile to Latinos, and the Democratic Party as increasingly welcoming to Latinos:
- When Latino voters are asked if the GOP has, in recent years, become more welcoming to Latinos, more hostile to Latinos, or has not really changed, 15% say the Republican Party has become more welcoming; 42% say more hostile; and 35% say no change.
- When Latino voters are asked if the Democratic Party has, in recent years, become more welcoming to Latinos, more hostile to Latinos, or has not really changed, 47% say the Democratic Party has become more welcoming; 10% say more hostile; and 36% say no change.
Latino voters have a personal connection to the immigration debate:
- 57% of Latino voters know someone who is undocumented.
- A third of Latino voters (34%) know someone who has faced deportation or detention for immigration reasons.
- A third of Latino voters (33%) know someone who has applied for DACA.
Latino voters are more enthusiastic about voting in 2016 than in 2012, and attacks by Trump and on immigrants is the top reason:
- When asked about their level of enthusiasm, 48% say they are more enthusiastic to vote in 2016, 31% say they were more enthusiastic in 2012, and 16% say there’s no difference.
- When those who were more enthusiastic were asked an open-ended question probing why they are more enthusiastic in 2016, the number one answer (41%) was some combination of fighting back against anti-immigrant sentiment and stopping Donald Trump.
A new Los Angeles Times article confirms that immigrants who are eligible for citizenship are being motivated to finally apply, so that they can vote against anti-immigrant politicians this year.
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, “At its core, the Supreme Court case is about the future of some 5 million undocumented immigrants settled in America and the more than 6 million U.S. citizen children who live with them. With Republicans having decided to vigorously oppose and, if elected, rescind the executive actions, and Democrats having decided to initiate, defend and expand on those same policy changes, the case is also about the future of the two political parties. In the end, we believe the executive actions will be vindicated by the Supreme Court and millions of hardworking immigrant families will achieve a measure of dignity and freedom. And we believe the Republican Party is on the wrong side of history and will pay a heavy price for its unyielding opposition — in 2016 and beyond.”
The toplines are available here.
