When I state my opinion to elected officials, I want to back it up with numbers. That demonstrates that (1) I am not a lone voice and (2) The sentiment is such that politicians are going to have to factor it into their strategies to get votes, much as the talk-TV people are using it for ratings. You might want to cite this informal survey and the results when contacting those in a position to change things. You'll be taken much more seriously if you let it be known that you talk up your views.
I also wanted people to express themselves without fear of being flamed. I'm impressed by the quality of many comments, both those who were with the majority and those who weren't.
With 137 tallied votes, by the formula 1/(square root of responses), the margin of error would be less than 10%, if you're into that stuff.
A. The borders of the US should be carefully monitored to eliminate illegal entry into the country as much as possible
Yes-134(97.8%); No-2(1.5%); Depends/Qualified-0; NoResponse-1(0.7%)
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B. Those who are here illegally should be sent home
Yes-126(92.0%); No-4(3.0%); Depends/Qualified-5(3.6%); NoResponse-2(1.5%)
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C. Legal entry into the country should be severely curtailed or eliminated
Yes-108(79.4%); No-25(18.4%); Depends/Qualified-2(1.5%); NoResponse-1(0.7%)
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D. None of the above. We should supportour elected officials, policies and goals with regard to the borders. (NB: This should have been worded to vote for it if you accepted either of these positions)
Yes-2(1.5%); No-129(94.9%); Depends/Qualified-1(0.7%); No Response-4(2.9%)
I probably made a few small tally errors, since I did this the old fashoined way, but nothing that significantly changes the results. One thing I found interesting is that on "C" a significant percentage (18.4%) supported legal immigration with a sane policy.
What this tells me is that if those who are concerned about the borders and illegal entry into the country are ignored, there is the real opportunity for a new political voice to emerge and support these views. It's nice to have numbers behind that kind of statement.