The vast majority of Americans say illegal immigration is not good for the United States but legal immigration is necessary to fill jobs, according to a new poll commissioned by The Center Square.
The Center Square Immigration Poll
The poll, conducted by RMG Research in conjunction with Napolitan News Service, surveyed 1,000 registered voters across the country. It found that 74% of voters say that legal immigration is good for the United States but that illegal immigration is bad. As few as 16% of respondents said both legal and illegal immigration are good for the United States and 8% said they viewed all immigration badly.
“Views on immigration have stayed steady for decades,” said Scott Rasmussen, founder of Napolitan Institute and president of RMG Research. “Border security is very important to voters. In fact, most say there is no point in discussing other immigration reforms until the border is secure.”
Across party lines, support for legal immigration remains high with 89% of Republicans and 90% of Democrats in favor of legal immigration.
The poll also asked a series of questions on specific job sectors that voters think legal immigration is necessary for.
Seventy-one percent of voters said it is “very important” to create legal pathways for doctors and nurses to live and work in the United States. The support for immigration to fill roles in the medical field was bipartisan and held widely across demographic groups.
Another 58% of voters said it was “very important” to increase legal pathways for seasonal farm workers and 54% say the same about construction workers. In particular, 70% of Black voters emphasized increasing legal pathways for construction worker jobs and 54% of Hispanic voters supported increasing pathways for seasonal farm workers.
Increasing legal pathways for other high skilled sectors including IT workers is “very important” to 47% of voters. In an educational setting, increasing legal pathways for college professors is “very important” to 46% of voters.
As roles become less specialized, support declines for creating legal pathways to jobs: 45% of voters said it is “very important” to create legal pathways for cooks and cleaners, and 44% said it is important to create legal pathways for entrepreneurs.
The demographic breakdown of voter support shows that young adults ages 18 to 34 are most supportive of immigration broadly: 21% of young adult voters supported both legal and illegal immigration. Those ages 55-64 are more skeptical of immigration, with 87% who said only legal immigration is good and illegal immigration is bad.
Across population densities, college education and income, views on immigration remained relatively similar. 78% of voters making between $50,000 and $75,000 per year said legal immigration is good and illegal immigration is bad for the country. The lowest level of support for this statement, at 71% of voters, came from voters making less than $35,000 per year.
Voters with no college education supported illegal immigration less than those with any amount of educational credentials: 67% of voters said legal immigration is good and illegal immigration is bad and 80% of voters with some college education or a bachelor’s degree agreed with the statement.
Despite polarizing views across the country, most voters said their communities have a balanced level of immigration, with 49% of voters saying the number of legal immigrants in their communities is “about right” while 19% said there are “too many” legal immigrants. Only 14% said there were “too few” legal immigrants and 17% could not decide.
Across partisan divides, this number held steady with 46% of Republicans and 50% of Democrats agreeing their communities have “about the right” number of legal immigrants.
There is “a desire for pragmatic solutions for people who have lived here for a long time, have a job, and are generally good members of their community,” Rasmussen said.
The poll has a 3.1% margin of error.
