Posted on 03/20/2004 11:50:27 AM PST by Indy Pendance
A vast majority of Texans believe illegal immigration from Mexico is a serious problem, but they are split over President Bush's plan to provide undocumented workers with temporary work visas, according to a recent poll.
Eighty-six percent of those surveyed for the Scripps Howard Texas Poll released Saturday said illegal immigration is a very serious or somewhat serious problem. Nine percent said it is not very serious and four percent said it is not serious at all.
Meanwhile, 48 percent of the respondents said they favored Bush's plan to allow undocumented workers to stay in the United States for several years working at jobs Americans don't want as long as the immigrants return to their native countries. Forty-five percent opposed the plan.
Bush's plan has the most support among Hispanics, with 55 percent favoring the proposal and 40 percent opposing it. Forty-nine percent of Anglos support Bush's plan and 45 percent are opposed. Fifty-six percent of blacks oppose the plan while 37 percent support it.
The respondents also were split when asked whether illegal immigrants from Mexico take jobs nobody wants or take jobs away from Americans who need them. Forty-seven percent said they take unwanted jobs, while 38 percent said they take jobs from Americans.
Sixty-nine percent of Texans said the U.S. government is not doing enough to stop unauthorized immigration. That represents an 11 percent increase over the last poll in August 2001. Twenty-three percent said the government is doing enough.
Responses to that question were sharply divided along racial lines. Fifty-five percent of Hispanics said the government is not doing enough, compared with 71 percent of Anglos and 78 percent of blacks.
The survey of 1,000 Texas adults was offered in Spanish and English between Feb. 12 and March 3. It had a plus or minus margin of error of 3 percentage points.
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