Opinion on Immigration (May 2011)
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Respondents were asked, "On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?" Measurement of Party ID for this figure is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents. Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this figure.
| category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 57% | 42% | 32% |
| Bad thing | 28% | 35% | 59% |
| Don't know | 15% | 23% | 9% |
| category | Lean Republican | Not very strong Republican | Strong Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 41% | 36% | 24% |
| Bad thing | 49% | 56% | 67% |
| Don't know | 10% | 9% | 8% |
| category | Lean Democrat | Not very strong Democrat | Strong Democrat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 74% | 41% | 59% |
| Bad thing | 21% | 41% | 24% |
| Don't know | 5% | 18% | 17% |
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Respondents were asked, "On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
| category | Liberals | Moderates | Conservatives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 69% | 44% | 30% |
| Bad thing | 17% | 37% | 59% |
| Don't know | 14% | 20% | 11% |
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Respondents were asked, "On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
| category | Leaning conservative | Somewhat conservative | Extremely conservative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 29% | 31% | 30% |
| Bad thing | 53% | 59% | 63% |
| Don't know | 18% | 10% | 7% |
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Respondents were asked, "On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
| category | Leaning liberal | Somewhat liberal | Extremely liberal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 61% | 80% | 66% |
| Bad thing | 29% | 9% | 13% |
| Don't know | 10% | 11% | 22% |
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Respondents were asked, "On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?" Tea Party identification is based on the following question, also asked in the survey: "Suppose the Tea Party movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?" Those who responded "Republican candidate" are considered Republicans (non-Tea Party movement) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.
| category | Democrat | Republican | Tea Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 62% | 35% | 37% |
| Bad thing | 30% | 56% | 55% |
| Don't know | 9% | 9% | 7% |
| category | White | Black | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 38% | 38% | 59% |
| Bad thing | 50% | 43% | 21% |
| Don't know | 12% | 19% | 20% |
| category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 50% | 35% |
| Bad thing | 40% | 47% |
| Don't know | 10% | 18% |
| category | Urban | Suburban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 48% | 45% | 29% |
| Bad thing | 38% | 43% | 53% |
| Don't know | 13% | 12% | 18% |
| category | No high school | High school graduate | Some college | 2-year | 4-year | Post-grad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good thing | 34% | 35% | 43% | 45% | 49% | 68% |
| Bad thing | 50% | 47% | 43% | 50% | 40% | 27% |
| Don't know | 15% | 18% | 15% | 6% | 11% | 4% |
