Washington Post Poll: Hispanics Are the Strongest Opponents of Immigration

A Hispanic woman stands draped in the American flag opposite a "Patriot Picnic" demonstrat
SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images
Neil Munro

A Washington Post poll shows that Hispanics are the strongest advocates for a near-total halt to legal immigration during the coronavirus epidemic and economic crash.

Sixty-nine percent of Hispanics said yes when they were asked, “Would you support … temporarily blocking nearly all immigration into the United States during the coronavirus outbreak?” Just 30 percent of Hispanics oppose the shutdown.

In contrast, 67 percent of whites backed the shutdown, partly because 45 percent of  “liberals” opposed the policy.

The survey of 1,008 adults was taken from April 21-26 by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland, after President Donald Trump announced April 22 that he would trim immigration to help Americans gain jobs in the coronavirus recovery.

A shutdown is backed by 65 percent of all adults, 67 percent of independents, 83 percent of Republicans, 76 percent of conservatives, 64 percent of moderates, and by 63 percent of younger people aged 18 to 39.

A shutdown is also backed by 61 percent of non-whites, 60 percent of people with college degrees, 68 percent of people with income below $50,000, and 62 percent of people with income above $100.000.

People have definite views during the coronavirus epidemic: Just one percent said they had no opinions about an immigration shutdown.

But 49 percent of Democrats opposed a shutdown, along with 46 percent of “Dem/lean Dem,” 23 percent of conservatives, and 37 percent of white college graduates.

The poll’s result may be a fluke because it sampled a relatively small number of Latinos in the survey of 1,008 Americans. But Latinos, like Americans, have caring but ambivalent views on immigration.

Many want to welcome migrants even as they also strongly prefer that all jobs go to unemployed Americans, including their family members. For example, a 2013 push-poll developed by Mark Zuckerberg’s FWD.us group appeared to show that most Americans supported the 2013 “Gang of Eight” amnesty. But the same poll also showed:

Seventy-eight percent of Hispanic respondents support “substantially increasing security among US-Mexican border.” Seventy-seven percent support rules requiring companies to check the employees work eligibility and 76 percent support a rule to identify people who overstay their visa to take jobs.

The Daily Caller also reported:

“These [Zuckerberg-hired] GOP pollsters aren’t GOP pollsters — they’re bought and paid-for GOP consultants working for someone else, and the GOP is stupid enough to believe them,” said a Hill aide.

In general, immigrants prefer to see the United States as a land of opportunity for themselves and their future American children, not as a forever “nation of immigrants,” as often insisted by diversity-and-rule progressives. These views emerge when they — and other voters — are asked about related or proxy issues, such as jobs and crime.

Those ambivalent views are hidden when people are asked about immigration in general. For example, the progressives’ insistence on their “nation of immigrants” myth can distort polling results. For example, a recent poll by HuffPost and YouGov announced that:

Public attitudes on immigration, however, don’t appear to have been substantially affected by the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Americans say, 54% to 21%, that immigration into the U.S. is a good thing for the country. Just 15% say immigration has a negative effect on them personally, with one-quarter seeing a positive personal effect and the rest unaffected or unsure.

But that April 22-24 poll of 1,000 adult citizens skewed the respondents’ answers by first asking, “Do you believe the US is a nation of immigrants?” while ignoring jobs and wages.

In contrast, an April 22-23 poll by Rasmussen Reports reported that 57 percent of 1,000 likely voters approve of President Donald Trump’s temporary halt to some forms of immigration. The policy question — “Do you favor or oppose a temporary halt to most immigration?” — was approved by 59 percent of younger people, 85 percent of Republicans, 34 percent of Democrats, and 43 percent of black Americans.

The “temporary halt” policy was also applauded by 62 percent of people who “somewhat disapprove” of Trump and by 23 percent of people who “strongly disapprove” of Trump.

The Rasmussen poll may have understated support for Trump’s April 22 immigration policy, partly because media-magnified criticism and political divisiveness causes some respondents to hide their opinions.  For example, 13 percent of all respondents said they were “not sure” about Trump’s policy. But only two percent of Republicans picked the “not sure” option, while 18 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of “other” hid their views with “not sure” answers.

The Rasmussen poll matches prior surveys that show that Americans generously want to welcome migrants — but rationally want companies to hire Americans before importing workers.

These polls show that the public strongly objects to companies hiring foreign workers before American employees. For example, an August 2017 poll reported that 68 percent of Americans oppose companies’ use of H-1B visa workers to outsource U.S.-based jobs that could be held by Americans.

Follow Neil Munro on Twitter @NeilMunroDC, or email the author at NMunro@Breitbart.com.

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