By Rebecca Santana and Amelia Thomson-Deveaux -
The Associated Press
Americans are more concerned than they were a few years ago that immigrants who arrive illegally will commit crimes in the United States, a change driven largely by increased concern among Republicans, while Democrats continue to see a wide range of benefits derived from immigration, a new survey revealed.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that a sizable percentage of American adults believe immigrants contribute to the country's economic growth and make important contributions to American culture.
But when it comes to immigrants who came to the country through legal channels, American adults
see fewer notable benefits than in the past
and believe they pose more risks.
Vehicles wait to enter the United States from Mexico at the international crossing in El Paso, Texas, on March 29, 2019. Gerald Herbert / AP
About 4 in 10 Americans say that when migrants enter the country legally it is very beneficial for American companies, because they have the experience of experienced workers in fields such as science and technology. A similar proportion (38%) also believe they represent an important benefit in enriching American culture and values.
Both numbers were down from 2017, when 59% of Americans said skilled immigrant workers entering the country legally were an important benefit, and half said they helped enrich American culture.
[Georgia passes a bill that toughens immigration policies after the murder of university student Laken Riley]
Additionally, the percentage of Americans who say there is a significant risk that migrants who followed legal channels will commit crimes in the United States has increased from 19% in 2017 to 32% in the new survey.
Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say immigration is an important issue to them. 41% now think there is a significant risk that immigrants who entered legally will commit crimes in the United States, up from 20% in 2017.
In general, Republicans are more inclined to see significant risks – and fewer benefits – in immigrants who enter the country legally or illegally, although they tend to be more concerned about people who arrive in the country illegally.
Bob Saunders, a 64-year-old independent voter from Voorhees, New Jersey, disapproves of President Joe Biden's actions on immigration and border security and is especially concerned about the number of migrants arriving at the southern border and then being released. He stressed that there is a difference between legal and illegal immigration, and commented that it is important to know
the background of immigrants who arrive in the country
. He also stated that legal immigration contributes to the economy and referenced immigrants from his own family.
“This is not [an anti-immigration position],” Saunders said. “It is against illegal immigration.”
Many Republicans, 71%, say there is a risk that people who are in the country illegally will come to the United States and commit crimes, although many studies have shown that immigrants are less likely to commit violent crimes than native-born citizens. the country.
An even larger share, 80%, believe there is a significant risk that people in the country illegally will burden public service programs, while 6 in 10 Republicans worry there is
a significant risk that they will take American jobs
, that their population growth will weaken American identity, or that they will vote illegally, although only a small number of non-citizen voters have been discovered.
Amber Pierce, a 43-year-old Republican from Milam, Texas, said she understands that many immigrants seek a better life for their children, but she also worries that they will become a burden on public services.
“I think a lot of them come here and get free health care and they take it away from people who have worked here and are citizens,” Pierce said. “It's free for them. "It doesn't seem fair to me."
Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely to see the benefits of immigration, although the poll found that only half of Democrats now think immigrants who used legal avenues are making important contributions to American businesses, a decline up more than 20 percentage points since 2017. However, they are more likely than Republicans to say that the ability for people to come from other parts of the world to flee violence or to find economic opportunity in the United States is extremely or very important. for the country's identity.
“People who come do so for a good reason. That’s how a lot of us got here,” said Amy Wozniak, a Democrat from Greenwood, Indiana. Wozniak indicated that previous waves of immigrants came from European countries. Now immigrants come from other countries, but that does not mean that they do not flee for justified reasons, she added:
“Not all of them are drug traffickers and murderers
. ”
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There is also division among the parties on the value of diversity: 83% of Democrats say that the variety of the country's population makes it at least moderately stronger, compared to 43% of Republicans and independents. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say that a shared American culture and set of values are extremely or very important to America's identity as a nation, although about half of Democrats also consider that important.
American adults – and especially Republicans – are more likely to say that the country has changed significantly thanks to immigrants in the last five years than to say that immigrants have changed their own community or state. About 3 in 10 American adults think immigrants have had a major impact on their community, while about 6 in 10 say they have had a major impact on the country.
There is some bipartisan understanding about how immigration should be addressed at the US-Mexico border.
The most popular option is hiring more agents for the Border Patrol
, an idea supported by about 8 in 10 Republicans and about half of Democrats. Hiring more immigration judges and court staff also has the support of majorities in both parties.
[A decade of documenting more than 63,000 migrant deaths shows that fleeing is more deadly than ever]
About half of Americans support reducing the number of immigrants allowed to seek asylum in the United States when they arrive at the border, but there is a much greater partisan divide, with more Republicans than Democrats favoring that strategy.
Building a wall - former President Donald Trump's main political goal - is the least popular and most polarizing of the options. About 4 in 10 respondents favor building a wall, including 77% of Republicans but only 12% of Democrats.
Donna Lyon, an independent Democrat from Cortland, New York, believes a border wall would do little to stop immigrants. However, she supports hiring more Border Patrol agents and more immigration judges to address the growing backlog of cases in immigration courts: “That would eradicate all the backlogs we have [in cases].”
Congress just approved funding to hire about 2,000 more Border Patrol agents, but there has been no significant boost to funding more immigration judges so far this year.
Many lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have said it
takes too long to make decisions in asylum cases
, meaning immigrants remain in the country for years waiting for a decision. But neither Democrats nor Republicans have been able to reach an agreement on how to address the issue.