Immigration 2009 Part Three

Part Three: Common Threads, Different Voices

Although there are common themes among immigrants, certain groups do have unique perspectives. We chose to look at two groups, immigrants from Mexico and immigrants who identify themselves as Muslims, as these groups are at the forefront of immigration policy and perceptions.

Mexican immigrants are more likely to say they’re happy in the United States, but are also significantly more likely to perceive discrimination against immigrants. They’re also more likely to be lower-income and perhaps face more language barriers. Muslims, by contrast, are less likely to report discrimination and are overwhelmingly more likely to say the United States will be their permanent home.

When it comes to immigration policy, majorities believe that illegal immigrants will become productive citizens, and strong majorities favor a "guest worker" program and a “path to citizenship” for undocumented immigrants. But some immigrants, particularly older ones and those from certain groups, have reservations.

Mexican Participants In This
Study: By The Numbers

Based on the survey sample:

• Three out of ten Mexicans came to the United States after 2001 (comparable to other immigrants).
• Twenty-seven percent of Mexicans are citizens, a smaller number than other groups.
• Thirty-three percent of Mexicans are undocumented, a greater number than other groups.
• Mexicans break down by political party affiliation much as other immigrants do: 12 percent Republican, 39 percent Democrat, 24 percent Independent.
• Fifty-six percent of Mexicans report not having a high school diploma, compared with 17 percent of other immigrants
• Fifty-nine percent of Mexicans report having incomes under $25,000. Twenty-seven percent report incomes under $15,000. Compare this with 33 percent of other immigrants reporting under $25,000 and 18 percent under 15,000.
• Forty-five percent of Mexicans report having no health insurance, compared to 20 percent of other immigrants.
• Thirty-three percent have received food stamps, compared with 16 percent of all other immigrants.

Mexican immigrants are more likely to say the United States is a better place to raise children, and are less likely to speak English when they arrive. Overwhelming numbers say that the United States is a better place to make a living than their birth country.

Like other immigrants, Mexicans are generally happy with their life in the United States. Seven in ten say the United States is a unique country that stands for something special, and they're just as likely as other immigrants to say they'd do it all over again.

Mexicans are more likely to believe that the United States is a good place to raise children (66 percent compared to 50 percent of all other immigrants), and are just as skeptical as other immigrantsthat their children will go back to the country where they were born.. An overwhelming 96 percent say that the United States is a better place to earn a good living than is their birth country.

Mexican immigrants are different in other ways, some of which are likely to pose challenges in American society. (See "Mexican Participants In This Study: By The Numbers.") For one, the language problem among Mexican immigrants is a significant one. They are far more likely to say that they could not speak English when they first came to the United States. Fully 75 percent say they did not speak English at all, compared to 33 percent of other, non-Mexican immigrants.

Those who came here without knowing English were also much more likely to say they speak their native language at home (81 percent versus 54 percent among other immigrants) and more likely to say they speak fair or poor English (78 percent compared to 54 percent). They're significantly less likely to say that the United States should require immigrants to learn English (44 percent compared to 61 percent). We conducted interviews in English as well as Spanish (the respondent chose the language) and did not interview in any other language, so it is not surprising that many survey respondents say that their English is only fair or poor.

Yet Mexicans who knew little or no English when they arrived are also about as likely as other immigrants to have taken an English course, and Mexican immigrants overall are just as likely to say that schools should teach immigrant children English as quickly as possible.

Mexican immigrants express particularly strong concerns about discrimination.

The most dramatic difference between Mexican immigrants and other groups, whether in the survey or in focus groups, is in the level of discrimination they perceive around them and against them.

Three-quarters of Mexicans say that there is at least some discrimination towards immigrants, 18 points higher than other immigrants. The difference is even more dramatic when asked about discrimination towards people from their birth country. Some 73 percent of Mexicans say that there is at least some discrimination towards people from their birth country, 42 percentage points higher than other immigrants.

In the focus groups, particularly in an Atlanta group that was conducted in Spanish with recent Mexican immigrants, participants offered many stories about police harassment. No wonder, perhaps, that Mexicans who have been in the United States since at least 2000 are more likely to say that immigration laws have become stricter since the September 11 terrorist attacks (90 percent) and that elected officials don't care about them much (84 percent)

Yet Mexicans are no more likely to report experiencing discrimination themselves than are other immigrants. Nearly a quarter, 24 percent, say they have personally experienced either a great deal or some discrimination simply because they are an immigrant (7 percent say “a great deal").

Even though greater numbers of Mexicans are undocumented compared with other immigration groups, and even greater numbers report that most of the immigrants they know are illegal, their perception of personal discrimination is virtually the same as for other groups.

Mexican immigrants are even more likely to cite the practical side of citizenship.

Fewer Mexican immigrants are citizens, and though seeking citizenship carries strong elements of commitment and pride, practical concerns were even stronger among Mexicans than they were among other immigrants. This is less a question of attitudes than one of intensity. More Mexicans cite a number of practical issues as "major reasons" to become a citizen than do other immigrants:

• More Mexicans, 92 percent, cite the attainment of better legal rights as a major reason to become a citizen, compared with 72 percent of other immigrants. Some 87 percent of Mexicans cite equal rights and responsibilities as a major reason.
• Nearly as many, 87 percent, cite not having to worry about immigration status as a major reason, compared with 62 percent of all other immigrants.
• Eighty-six percent of Mexicans say cite the ease with which they are able to obtain certain jobs as a major reason, compared with 62 percent of other immigrants.
• Seventy-eight percent cite easier travel in and out of the United States, compared with 59 percent of other immigrants.
• Sixty-nine percent of Mexicans say that the ability to bring other family members to the United States is a major reason, compared with 41 percent of other immigrants.

Compared to Mexicans, other Latin American immigrants are more likely to speak English, less likely to be undocumented, and ties to their birth countries aren't as strong.

If you compare Mexican immigrants to those from Central and South America, there are several significant differences. For one thing, Central and South American immigrants are more likely to say their English is "excellent" (15 percent compared with 5 percent for Mexicans) and twice as likely to speak English at home (13 percent compared with 5 percent). The other Central and South American immigrants are also much less likely to say they are undocumented (only 14 percent compared to 33 percent of Mexicans) and dramatically more likely to say that most of the immigrants they know are here legally (69 percent, compared to only 38 percent of Mexicans). In addition, they are less likely to say that there is at least some discrimination against people from their birth country (34 percent compared with 73 percent of Mexicans).

While other Latin Americans are just as likely as Mexicans to send money home regularly, they're less likely than Mexicans to phone home weekly (40 percent compared with 53 percent of Mexicans) and to spend a lot of time with people from their home country (44 percent compared with 72 percent of Mexicans).

Muslim Participants In This
Study: By The Numbers

Based upon on the survey sample:

• Three out of four Muslims immigrated before 2001.
• Fifty-seven percent of the Muslim sample came from South Asia; 35 percent came from the Middle East.
• Sixty-eight percent of Muslims are citizens; an additional 26 percent are legal residents.
• Political affiliation: over half (55 percent) are Democrats, slightly more than other immigrants (43 percent).
• Muslim education is comparable to the total immigrant sample. Twenty-four percent have at least a two-year degree, while 77 percent have graduated from high school.
• Fifty-seven percent of Muslims made less than $25,000 a year. That’s 17 percent more in this bracket than other immigrants.

Muslim immigrants in America do not feel disaffection with the nation—far from it. If anything, their embrace of the United States and their expressions of patriotism are stronger than those of other groups.

One of the most striking facts about our subsample of Muslim immigrants is what isn’t happening. There’s been enormous political debate over the collision of the West with radical Islam, punctuated by September 11, the war in Iraq and riots and turmoil in Europe. Some worry that prejudice and government policy might push Muslims into radicalism; others worry that we don’t do enough to protect the country from radicals hiding among the Muslim population.

Our research finds no signs that Muslim immigrants are disaffected or detached from the rest of the United States. In fact, our surveys suggest that Muslims grab onto American ideals even more firmly than other immigrants do — and that’s saying something.

Six in ten Muslim immigrants (61 percent) report that they’re "extremely happy" in the United States, compared with only 33 percent of other immigrants. A stunning 92 percent of Muslims say that the United States will be their permanent home, compared with 69 percent among other immigrants.

Muslims are more likely to give the United States higher ratings than their birth country on key questions, such as having a free and independent media (79 percent say the United States does a better job on this, compared to 54 percent of other immigrants).

Our focus group with Middle Eastern immigrants^[1] , including a majority of Muslims, conducted in Detroit, Michigan, was by far the most overtly patriotic.

“My personal experience with American people and with America, it’s very welcoming. I think America respects you if you are a good person and hard-working.”

- A man in the Detroit focus group

Perhaps most striking, given the debate over whether Muslims have been unfairly targeted in the "war on terror", Muslims are also more likely to say there is no (or only a little) discrimination against immigrants in general in the United States (63 percent of Muslims compared with 32 percent of others). Only 19 percent of Muslims say there is at least some discrimination against people from their birth country compared with 35 percent of all other immigrants, and 1 percent of Muslims say that they have experienced a great deal of personal discrimination while 25 percent say they've experienced some discrimination.

The Muslim sample in our survey overwhelmingly hailed from two regions of the world: South Asia and the Middle East, both of which, of course, have substantial non-Muslim populations.^[2]

Examined by region, there are some significant differences as well. South Asians and Middle Easterners are by far the most likely to come to the United States knowing how to speak English well, with 70 percent of South Asians and 76 percent of Middle Easterners who came here knowing little or no English saying their English is good or excellent. South Asians are also more likely than any group except Mexican immigrants to phone home regularly (50 percent, compared with 40 percent overall and 28 percent of Middle Easterners).

When it comes to plans for reform, most immigrants strongly support bringing illegal or undocumented immigrants into the mainstream, including a guest worker program and a "path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants with a clean record. But one size does not fit all. Older immigrants and those from certain regions of the world are more skeptical of these ideas.

We tend to have one, overarching debate about immigration in the United States, as if all immigrants came here for the same reasons and posed the same challenges. Obviously that's not the case. Our study reveals a lot of common ground in the immigrant experience, and deeply held values that cut across all kinds of people. But the tech worker isn't the same as the day laborer, and the political refugee may have quite different concerns than the family trying to reunite.

The immigrants in our survey reflect this: Certain values and reform proposals, like a guest worker program and a procedure to allow illegal immigrants to become citizens, have considerable support among immigrants overall. But immigrants aren’t monolithic when it comes to the immigration debate. What they think about government policy depends on who they are.

For example, one of the fiercest debates is over undocumented or illegal immigration. Surveys of the general public consistently find that Americans take a much harsher view of illegal immigration than the legal variety. For example, a Gallup survey in 2008 found that 64 percent of Americans believed that immigration is generally a "good thing" for the country. But only 31 percent in the same survey said illegal immigrants "in the long run become productive citizens and pay their fair share of taxes." Nearly two-thirds say they cost the government too much.^[3]

Immigrants overall, however, firmly take the opposite view. When we asked the same question in our survey, 57 percent replied that illegal immigrants do become productive citizens, a finding that may drive attitudes on other questions. But the results depend very much on the immigrant's own background.

Not surprisingly, of course, undocumented immigrants themselves are much more likely to believe this (74 percent). So do 72 percent of Mexican immigrants. It's perhaps significant that Mexicans report having more contact with undocumented immigrants, with more than half saying most of the immigrants they know are here illegally.

Fewer immigrants from other backgrounds share this positive view of illegal immigrants. For example, 48 percent of South Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants say that illegal immigrants become productive citizens, while only 39 percent of East Asian immigrants agree. Immigrants older than 50 are also less likely to say this.

Such attitudes tend to influence views on other questions of public policy. Immigrants in general strongly support a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants. Seven in ten (72 percent) say that the government should offer a way for illegal immigrants with no criminal record and have shown a commitment to the United States to become citizens. Only 21 percent oppose that policy, saying it would "reward people who broke the law." Mexicans and other Latin Americans are even more likely to support a path to citizenship, at 84 percent for Mexicans and 81 percent for other Latin Americans.

Support among other groups is lower, with 62 percent of Middle Easterners, 54 percent of East Asians, and 48 percent of South Asians in favor. Support also declines as people grow older: 85 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds favor the path to citizenship, but only 56 percent of those 65 and older do.

In our focus groups, we heard skepticism from a number of participants who'd been in the country for some time regarding recent immigrants. There was resistance to the idea of deporting illegal immigrants who were already here but also an interest in keeping "bad elements" out of the country.

Again, the survey found that these views were in some part determined by age. Indeed, the older immigrants get, the more skeptical they become. Immigrants under age 30 overwhelmingly (81 percent) say that recent immigrants have the same respect for American law and customs, but only 6 in 10 between the ages of 31 and 49 say this. That number falls to just more than 4 in 10 (43 percent) for those older than 65.

There's a similar pattern in survey questions on whether the United States is too open to immigration. In our survey, a quarter of all immigrants said that the United States is too open immigrants, while only 17 percent say the country is too closed. Fifty percent say the United States “strikes the right balance.” But immigrants over age 65 are significantly more likely to say that the United States is too open, at 37 percent.

Among the most fiercely debated policy proposals of the past few years has been that of a "guest worker" program, one that would allow temporary visas for foreign workers. Surveys of the general public suggest that majorities back the idea of guest workers, though the results shift considerably based on how the questions are worded—always indicative of uncertainty among the public.^[4]

Our survey found that immigrants overwhelmingly support a guest worker plan, with 84 percent agreeing (and 61 percent agreeing strongly with the proposal). But South Asians (75 percent), Middle Easterners (76 percent) and East Asians (69 percent) were less likely to favor this. Mexicans were even more supportive, with 92 percent in favor and 73 percent strongly in favor.

[1] In the survey, Middle Eastern countries include Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen and Turkey.

[2] In the survey, South Asian countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

[3] Visit PublicAgenda.org for more details http://publicagenda.org/charts/people-are-divided-whether-immigrants-become-productivecitizens-or-if-they-cost-taxpayers-too-much-using-government.

[4] For specific examples of survey questions about guest workers, visit Public Agenda’s Web site at: http://www.publicagenda.org/charts/majorities-americans-support-guest-worker-program-illegal-immigrants-results-vary-based-question-wording.