WASHINGTON (By Julia Preston and Marjorie Connelly, NYTimes) May 25, 2007 — As opponents from the right and left challenge an immigration bill before Congress, there is broad support among Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike — for the major provisions in the legislation, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Taking a pragmatic view on a divisive issue, a large majority of Americans want to change the immigration laws to allow illegal immigrants to gain legal status and to create a new guest worker program to meet future labor demands, the poll found.

Half of Americans say they are ready to transform the process for selecting new immigrants as proposed in the bill, giving priority to job skills and education levels over family ties to the United States, which have been the foundation of the immigration system for four decades.

Point by point, large majorities expressed support for measures in the legislation that has been under debate since Monday in the Senate.

Two-thirds of those polled said illegal immigrants who had a good employment history and no criminal record should gain legal status as the bill proposes, which is by paying at least $5,000 in fines and fees and receiving a renewable four-year visa.

Many Republican lawmakers have rejected this plan, calling it amnesty that rewards immigrants who broke the law when they entered the United States. But the poll showed that differences are not great between Republicans and Democrats on this issue, with 66 percent of Republicans in the poll favoring the legalization proposal, as well as 72 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of independents.

Rick Nuñez, a 29-year-old quality control technician from Pennsauken, N. J., who identified himself as a Republican, said in a follow-up telephone call that he favored a legalization plan.

“Illegal immigrants are imbedded in our nation, so allowing them to apply for a work visa would be a good way to draw them in and set a path for them to become legal,” said Mr. Nuñez, whose family came from Puerto Rico. “If they have been working here and are law abiding and can contribute to our country, they should be allowed to stay and become citizens.”

Most of those polled agreed that illegal immigrants should eventually be allowed to apply to become American citizens. But 59 percent said illegal immigrants should be considered for citizenship only after legal immigrants who have played by the rules.

Two-thirds of Americans in the survey favored creating a guest-worker program for future immigrants. The bill would create a temporary-worker program in which immigrants would come for three stints of two years each, going home for one year between each stint and returning home for good after the third.

More than half of those who favored the guest-worker program said the workers should be allowed to apply to become permanent immigrants and eventually American citizens, if they maintain a strong work history and commit no crimes. About a third of those who favored the program disagreed, saying guest workers should be required to return home after their temporary period.

Economists have found that many undocumented workers have Social Security and other taxes deducted from their paychecks, and have contributed as much as $7 billion to the Social Security Administration while claiming no benefits because of their illegal status.

Among those polled, a majority of 51 percent favored overhauling the American immigration system to make it more attuned to economic demands, giving priority to job skills and educational accomplishment.

Family reunification has been the cornerstone of the immigration system since 1965. The bill proposes to move to a merit system in which points would be assigned for work skills and education.

Most Americans in the poll said they believed the country will be served if immigrants can work legally. “When immigrants do take jobs, they’re hard workers,” said Anna Cooper, 55, a homemaker in Venice, Fla., who identified herself as an independent. “They just want to work, that’s the bottom line. They need a paycheck to take care of their families.”

 

Most Americans Favor Letting Illegal Immigrants Become Citizens, Poll Finds

 

-	Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

WASHINGTON (By Janet Hook, LATimes) June 12, 2007 — A strong majority of Americans — including nearly two-thirds of Republicans — favors allowing illegal immigrants to become citizens if they pay fines, learn English and meet other requirements, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.

That is a striking show of support for the central tenet of legislation that has stalled in the Senate amid vocal opposition from anti-immigrant conservatives to provisions allowing such a path to citizenship.

Only 23% of adults surveyed opposed allowing immigrants to become legal. That bolsters the view, shared by President Bush, that the bill's opponents represent a vocal minority, whereas most people are more welcoming toward illegal immigrants.

"They are willing to take jobs that our people aren't interested in, and I think this helps the economy," Joseph Simpkins, a retired dry cleaner in New Jersey who participated in the survey, said in a follow-up interview. "As long as they pay taxes, I see nothing wrong with having them become citizens."

The poll also found a big gender gap in attitudes toward the economy, with men far more optimistic than women. More than two-thirds of men said the economy is doing well; only 49% of women agreed with that.

"Sure, there are people out of work, but I do feel our economy is doing as well as I've ever seen it," said Harold Wells, a retired financial planner in Michigan. "We have 4.5% unemployment, and the stock exchange is at its highest in a while."

National debate on immigration heated up in recent weeks as the Senate has taken up — a Bush-backed bill that would have overhauled immigration laws.

The bill aims to establish a pathway for illegal immigrants to become citizens if they meet certain requirements. It would provide a guest worker program to provide temporary visas for immigrant workers, and create a point system for evaluating new immigrants that would put less weight on family ties and more on applicants' skills and education.

Although the pathway to citizenship was one of the most controversial provisions of the Senate bill, the poll found the idea was backed by 63% of those surveyed — even by 58% of those who identified themselves as anti-immigrant conservatives and 65% of Republicans.

The survey question specified that, under the proposal, citizenship would be available only to those who register their presence in the U.S., have no criminal record, pay a fine, get fingerprinted and learn English, among other requirements. Those conditions helped ease concerns among some Republicans who feared a less stringent policy would amount to amnesty.

The guest worker program and the new visa point system did not draw as much support, largely because those elements of the legislation were less well known. Some 43% did not know enough about the point system to have an opinion; 25% did not know enough about the guest worker program to have an opinion.