Vanessa Cárdenas: “The American public is hungry for solutions and to fix our broken immigration system, recognizing rightly that immigration within a controlled and orderly system is good for America, our economy, and our future.”
Washington, DC – New immigration polling from Gallup, the latest installment in their annual poll, finds that Americans overwhelmingly recognize that immigrants and immigration are good for the country. The fact that this huge margin persists in the face of the relentless demonization and disinformation by immigration opponents and right wing media is a good sign that America’s belief in welcoming newcomers remains strong.
The new Gallup poll finds:
- By a 68-27% margin, Americans think immigration is a “good thing” rather than a “bad thing” for the country.
- Majorities of each party support the idea of immigration as a “good thing” – Democrats (87-10%) and Independents (67-28%) overwhelmingly agree while Republicans agree “good thing” by a 50-43% margin.
- Trendlines show Americans growing increasingly pro-immigrant over time: Gallup has asked this “good thing” or “bad thing” question 22 times over the years. This is the ninth consecutive year in which support for “immigration is a good thing” is at or above 67 percent (two-thirds).
- A majority of Americans want immigration levels to increase or stay the same, with Republicans as outliers: A separate Gallup question asked whether immigration should be kept at present levels, increased, or decreased.
- While a combined 57% want immigration levels to increase or remain the same and 41% want immigration levels to decrease, this topline number obscures partisan differences:
- As Gallup News writes in their accompanying poll summary: “Today’s differences in immigration views by party are markedly different from the 1990s, when large proportions of both Republicans and Democrats favored a decrease in immigration. Since then, Republicans have maintained their preference for curtailing immigration. By contrast, even with dips in their support this year, Democrats and independents have grown more supportive than they were a decade or more ago.”
- A combined 82% of Democrats favor immigration levels increasing or staying the same in this year’s poll while a combined 59% of Independents favor immigration levels increasing or staying the same. Republicans are the outliers, with a combined 26% favoring immigration levels increasing or staying the same and 73% wanting to decrease immigration levels.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, America’s Voice Executive Director:
“Americans remain overwhelmingly pro-immigrant and pro-immigration despite ongoing efforts by right wing media and opponents of immigration to politicize the issue and whip up fears over immigrants and newcomers. The American public is hungry for solutions and to fix our broken immigration system, recognizing rightly that immigration within a controlled and orderly system is good for America, our economy, and our future.”
