Pew Hispanic Center Factsheet

This fact sheet reviews findings on attitudes towards immigration and immigration policy options from a variety of major surveys of the American public taken this spring by several different media and research organizations.

Some of the other major findings include:

The public appears almost evenly divided on whether immigration overall is good for the country or not.

Americans are split over levels of legal immigration. Significant minorities of roughly a third or more favor the opposite approaches of keeping legal immigration at its present levels or decreasing it. A smaller share favors increasing legal immigration.

A significant majority of Americans see illegal immigration as a very serious problem and most others see it at least as a serious problem.

A majority of Americans believes that illegal immigrants are taking jobs Americans do not want.

A majority of Americans appears to favor measures that would allow illegal immigrants currently in the U.S. to remain in the country either as permanent residents and eventual citizens or as temporary workers who will have to go home eventually. When those options are presented, only a minority favors deporting all illegal migrants or otherwise forcing them to go home.

Americans generally express greater confidence in Democrats on immigration issues than Republicans.

A majority of Americans disapprove of the way that President Bush is handling immigration issues.