AMERICAN ATTITUDES TO IMMIGRATION

Excerpts from a just-released public opinion poll:

While it has long been suspected that public and elite opinion differ on the issue of immigration, a new poll provides the most compelling evidence yet that there is an enormous gap between the American people and "opinion leaders" on the issue. The survey also suggests that the gap between the public and elites has actually widened since the September 11terrorist attacks.

The results of the survey indicate that the gap between the opinions of the American people on immigration and those of their leaders is enormous. The poll found that 60 percent of the public regards the present level of immigration to be a "critical threat to the vital interests of the United States," compared to only 14 percent of the nation�s leadership � a 46 percentage point gap

It is a well established fact in public opinion polling that most Americans for nearly all of the last quarter century have desired reductions in legal and illegal immigration. However, in general, federal lawmakers have moved in the opposite direction of their constituents� desires, continually raising the numerical level of legal immigration and failing to take steps to reduce illegal migration.

See here for more. It looks like Australia is a lot more democratic than the USA on this one. Our government DOES go to great lengths to control immigration. It is probably one of the most effective in the world at it. Republicans should learn from Australia�s conservatives and make more of an issue out of this one. They could at last toss out some of those entrenched Democrat incumbents if they did.

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