Public Agenda Special Edition: Terrorism

Introduction

Overview

Bioterrorism

Public Opinion

Sources and Resources

Public Opinion: Immigration
Opposition to immigration spiked 20 points after Sept. 11 and much of the debate over homeland security has focused on gaining better control of the nation's borders. But public attitudes about immigration are complex, and there's evidence that the public isn't so much resisting immigration as it is frustrated with the government's longstanding failure to stem illegal immigration.

Many of the hundreds of people detained during the government's hunt for al Qaeda operatives were held on immigration charges. Those alleged immigration violations may provide important context to public attitudes on this issue. Historically, the public has mixed views on immigration, but usually makes a clear distinction between legal and illegal immigrants - and has little patience with immigrants who break the rules to get here. For example, six in 10 in Public Agenda's Constitution survey, Knowing It by Heart, said illegal immigrants should be deported immediately after being caught. Only about a third (35 percent) believed illegal immigrants should be allowed to appeal their case in a court hearing.

Similarly, when Public Agenda asked whether illegal immigrants detained during the Sept. 11 terrorist investigation should have the right to see a lawyer and face charges quickly, 58 percent said "they don't deserve such protections because they are here illegally to start with."

Certainly the public has taken a harder line on immigration overall since Sept. 11. A May 14-15 2002 Fox News poll found 61 percent who want to make it more difficult for all foreigners to enter the country. Nearly half (48 percent) told Fox they would support stopping all immigration for two years or blocking all immigration of young Arab men (53 percent). A year after the terror attacks, the Gallup survey on Sept. 2-4 found 54 percent calling for immigration to be decreased.

Yet when an early-September 2002 NBC/Wall Street Journal poll gave people a choice between curtailing immigration overall and doing "a better job screening immigrants let into the country but not reduce the overall number," 62 percent chose better screening, compared to 36 percent for cutting overall immigration. That may also factor into initial public support for the government's policy of fingerprinting foreign visitors from certain countries - in January 2004, Fox News found eight in 10 voters supported fingerprinting all foreigners entering the U.S.

It's important to note that Americans hold many positive views of immigrants, and the romantic idea of immigrants as the real believers in America still resonates. In Public Agenda's 2002 survey on the Constitution, 57 percent of the public said that immigrants have a greater appreciation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights than others.

A more detailed examination of this topic is available in Public Agenda's issue guide on Immigration.

-- by Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson