ADVISORY / MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Topic: Analysis and polling data regarding the anticipated Senate immigration reform proposal
Expert: Tatishe Nteta, assistant professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and associate director of the UMass Poll -- http://polsci.umass.edu/profiles/nteta_tatishe_m
Available: Via phone or email; also available via satellite for TV segments from Chicago or on-campus studio in Amherst, Mass.
Contact: Jared Sharpe – 413-545-3809 / jsharpe[at]admin.umass.edu
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Tatishe Nteta, assistant professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and associate director of the UMass Poll, is available to discuss the elements of the anticipated bipartisan Senate proposal on immigration reform. Nteta will also be able to discuss recent UMass Poll data that indicate Americans’ views on immigration (see below).
To speak with Tatishe Nteta or to request his comments on either the Senate immigration proposal or the UMass Poll’s findings on Americans’ views of the issue, please contact:
Jared SharpeNews and Media RelationsUniversity of Massachusetts AmherstPhone: 413-545-3809 / Email: jsharpe[at]admin.umass.eduwww.umass.edu/newsoffice
*********************** UMASS POLL FINDINGS ON IMMIGRATION -- 3/18/13 (Link to results) Americans vastly overestimate the number of illegal immigrants coming to the U.S. As the Senate inches closer to releasing details of the “Gang of Eight’s” plan for comprehensive immigration reform, new data from the UMass Poll finds that Americans, when asked about the numbers of new illegal immigrants arriving in the U.S., vastly overestimate the size of illegal migration to the U.S. When a nationally representative sample of Americans was asked how many illegal immigrants they think entered the U.S. in 2012, the average guess was 2.32 million. According to the most recent information provided by the Department of Homeland Security, between 2005 and 2010 (the height of illegal migration to the United States) 1.58 million illegal immigrants came to the U.S. which averages to 316,000 illegal immigrants coming to the U.S. per year. Nteta: “These results suggest that rhetoric concerning the “invasion” of illegal immigrants by elites has likely influenced the manner in which Americans think about the scale of illegal immigration to the U.S.” Americans overestimate the numbers of legal immigrants coming to the U.S. When asked how many legal immigrants they think entered the U.S. in 2012, the average guess was 1.72 million. According to the Department of Homeland Security, in 2012 1.03 million persons became legal permanent residents of the U.S. Since 2000, 1.03 million persons on average became legal permanent residents per year. Nteta: “While Americans hold more realistic portraits of the size of the legal immigrant population, they still overestimate its size. These skewed perceptions of the size of the immigrant population may reflect the very real changes to the racial and ethnic composition of the nation.” A majority of Americans express support for increasing the numbers of legal immigrants coming to the U.S. When asked how many legal immigrants SHOULD be admitted to the U.S., few Americans want to admit no immigrants. Only 3% said that they would like to allow no legal immigrants into the country. Yet, almost one-in-four chose a number of legal immigration of less than 500,000 per year. However, more than half of the sample (55%) chose a level of legal immigration greater than 1 million persons per year. Nteta: “These results bolster calls by those seeking to reform the process by which resident aliens gain status as legal immigrants as well as policies that seek to increase the number of visas and green cards available to newcomers.”
Americans express hesitancy in increasing the number of visas to low-skilled workers When asked if they desired an increase in the number of visas given to immigrants working in either farming or construction, 33% of respondents supported an increase in the number of immigrant farming and construction workers. This figure trails the support given to increases in the number of visas given to scientists and engineers (42%) and doctors and nurses (42%), but ranks above the support given to increases in the number of in visas granted to students (30%) and immigrants in the hospitality industry (22%). Nteta: “Americans’ preference for an increase in the numbers of highly skilled immigrants bodes well for immigration reform proposals favored by both the Obama administration and the Senate which seek to attract skilled immigrants in science, technology, engineering and medical fields. Tepid support for increasing the number of visas to farm workers suggests that big labor’s resistance to this policy resonates with the public.”
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