November 0 Survey Attitudes toward Immigration: Iowa Republican Caucus-Goers Partnership for a New American Economy
Methodology: Survey Sample frame: Sample size: Weighting: Margin of error: Method/length: Iowa voters registered as Republican or no party 3,003 voters, of whom 400 qualified as likely caucus-goers. Respondents were contacted using randomly selected telephone numbers from the Iowa voter registration list. Weighted by age and sex to reflect proportions among registered Republican/no party voters in the list. ±4.9 percentage points for the likely caucus-goer sample. Telephone interviews lasting approximately 9 minutes. Field dates: November 6 th 9 th, 0
Demographics Party identification Republican 78 Independents 0 Sex Male 60 Female 40 Born-again Born again 4 Catholic Other/none/ not sure 37 Tea Party support Strong supporter 5 Just a supporter 4 Not a supporter 30 4 Conservatism Very conservative 34 Mostly conservative 49 Moderate/ Liberal 6 0% 5% 50% 75% 00%
Fewer than half say illegal immigration is a critical issue. Ranked by combined critical and important Addressing social issues such as abortion Halting illegal immigration 46 7 6 0 Making sure the U.S. has the best talent to compete in the global marketplace 45 6 4 Reforming taxes 5 33 3 Encouraging the creation of new businesses in the U.S. 64 8 7 Creating jobs in the U.S. 70 3 6 Reducing government spending and debt 85 3 Critical Important Somewhat important Not important Not sure 0% 5% 50% 75% 00%
To be sure, likely Iowa caucus-goers want a halt to illegal immigration. Punish businesses who hire illegal immigrants 60 5 4 Develop a system businesses can use to verify immigration status of new hires 74 0 5 Secure U.S. borders through tougher enforcement and better use of technology 8 4 3 0% 5% 50% 75% 00% Favor Live With Oppose Not sure
That does not prevent them from being open to expanding legal immigration. Allow foreign-born students educated in the U.S. to enter the workforce after graduation 33 40 6 Streamline the process for employers to hire the seasonal and permanent employees they need when Americans are not filling vacant jobs 40 39 9 Increase opportunities for legal immigrants to enter the U.S. workforce 4 9 9 Increase opportunities for entrepreneurs from other countries to move to the U.S. to start businesses here 4 0% 5% 50% 75% 00% Favor Live With Oppose Not sure
A clean test shows little opposition, which decreases with arguments on both sides. Putting aside any concerns specific to illegal immigration and focusing solely on legal immigration, would you favor or oppose a plan such as the one described here to expand legal immigration or are you neutral? End of survey 47 6 Favor Neutral Oppose Not sure Beginning of survey 8 49 3 0% 5% 50% 75% 00%
Majorities agree with all arguments in favor of expanding legal immigration. Reasons to support a plan to expand the number of visas Ranked by combined agree Immigrants create jobs. The U.S. needs more jobs so should selectively encourage more legal immigration 0 38 8 3 U.S. needs best and brightest or other nations get them 6 36 5 Foreign entrepreneurs want to come to the U.S. and can t because current rules for visas do not give them priority 6 47 8 7 High-quality students train here; better to stay here than compete with U.S. 34 4 6 8 Employers should have the right to hire workers who best fit their needs 3 45 3 9 The U.S. economy has thrived because of the hard-working immigrants who came to this country to start new lives 45 38 8 7 Immigration problems are largely with illegal immigration, not with people who enter the country legally 63 8 4 4 Strongly agree Mostly agree Mostly disagree Strongly disagree Not sure 0% 5% 50% 75% 00%
Majorities oppose half of arguments against expanding legal immigration. Ranked by combined agree The U.S. has to draw the line somewhere; if we continue to take in immigrants, even if they have legal status, we will lose our American culture 8 0 36 5 Immigration is a national security concern. We need to decrease all immigration. 4 9 The U.S. cannot gamble on whether legal immigrants will, in fact, create the jobs they say they will 7 3 8 When U.S. citizens do not have enough jobs to go around, this is not a good time to invite new immigrants to the country legal or not 8 5 0 Strongly agree Mostly agree Mostly disagree Strongly disagree Not sure 0% 5% 50% 75% 00%
While some are skeptical of Partnership s specific agenda, this is a time to give new ideas a try. Potential rule changes to modernize visa policies Issue more temporary visas for low-skilled workers 8 36 Issue more temporary visas for high-skilled workers 3 43 3 Create a new visa for entrepreneurs who want to start a business in the U.S., which would add new jobs here 49 6 3 Issue visas granting permanent residency to all foreign students who earn graduate degrees in technical fields from U.S. universities 9 43 6 Definitely good Worth a try Not good Not sure 0% 5% 50% 75% 00%
In summary... Iowa caucus-goers are thought of as concentrated on social issues. Immigration can be a hot-button issue. So, Iowa a good testing ground for proposals to expand legal immigration. Likely Iowa caucus-goers separate concerns with illegal immigration from the potential opportunity of legal immigration. There is openness to try new ideas that would boost the national economy.
About the Study The findings in this report are based on a telephone survey of 3,003 registered Republican and noparty voters in Iowa, of which 400 qualified as likely Republican caucus attendees. The survey was conducted from November 6 th through the 9 th, 0. Interviews lasted approximately 9 minutes. Interviewers contacted households with randomly selected phone numbers using the Iowa voter registration list obtained from the Secretary of State s office. Responses were weighted by age and sex to reflect the proportions found among voters in the Iowa voter registration list registered as Republicans or no party. Percentages reported out are based on responses from those who say they will definitely or probably attend the January 0. Percentages based on the sample of 400 Iowa voters who will definitely or probably attend the January 0 Republican caucus may have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 9 times out of 0, the findings would not vary from the percentages shown here by more than plus or minus 4.9 percentage points from what is presented in this report. Results based on smaller samples of respondents such as by gender or age have a larger margin of error.
November 0 Survey Attitudes toward Immigration: Iowa Republican Caucus-Goers Partnership for a New American Economy