Despite effort on Capitol Hill, most Americans don’t know much about it.
American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: The much vaunted immigration reforms bill, now pending before the Senate for debate, but which is in danger of being rejected by the US House of Representatives, is yet to curry favor with the public, with majority of the public confessing to not even knowing what the bill is about, according to a new poll released by the Pew Research Center.
According to the poll, 33% are in favor of the bill, with 28% opposed to it, but 38% say they don’t know what they think of the legislation.
The results indicate that the bill has come as a kind of surprise to the majority of the public, despite the much publicized version of the Gang of Eight proposals in the Senate right now.
The public does not think the bill would have a major impact on the nation’s economy or security, says the poll, with about half saying either that the immigration bill would not make much of a difference for the economy (35%) or that they don’t know how the bill would affect the economy (17%). One of the crucial reasons for the possible impediment to the bill is the security issue, with Republicans clamoring for secure borders, but of those polled, an even greater percentage says the bill would have no impact on the country’s safety from terrorism (57%) or that they don’t know how the country’s security would be affected (16%).
The national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted April 25-28 among 1,003 adults, finds that most do not think the Boston Marathon bombings should be an important factor in the debate over immigration legislation, but there is enough differing opinion on that front too. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) say the Boston attack and the immigration debate are mostly separate issues, while 36% say the attack should be an important factor in the debate.
With only 19% saying they are following the story very closely, and most Americans are unaware of some of the legislation’s visible aspects, it is clear that the immigration proposals have not caught the fancy of the public mired as they are in news of an economy still in the doldrums and new jobs being created at a snail’s pace. Fewer than half (46%) know that the bill would allow unauthorized immigrants to stay in the country while applying for citizenship.
College graduates support the immigration bill by roughly two-to-one (44% to 21%). Those with lower levels of education are divided over the legislation. An interesting aspect is that Blacks offer more support (42%) than opposition (22%) to the bill, while 36% offer no opinion. By contrast, whites are divided: 28% favor the proposal, 31% oppose it and 41% do not offer an opinion.
Many of the pro-immigration activists have been saying that the reforms would help the economy, but according to the poll, overall, somewhat more Democrats say the bill would help (33%) rather than hurt (18%) the U.S. economy, while about a third (34%) say it wouldn’t make much difference. About as many Republicans say the bill would hurt (25%) as help (21%) the economy, while 36% say it wouldn’t make much difference. Independents’ views are similar to those of Republicans.
Nearly six-in-ten (58%) say the bombings and debate over the immigration bill are mostly separate issues, while 36% say the Boston bombings should be an important factor in the debate.
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