Poll: Legal immigrants agree with Sessions, oppose amnesty

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC. (Photo: Gage Skidmore)

WASHINGTON — A recent survey by The Polling Company, a Washington, D.C.-based public opinion research firm, found that only 11% of the United States’ booming hispanic population believe more immigrants should be allowed in the country if U.S. companies have trouble finding workers.

The poll of 1,008 U.S. adults lends support to Sen. Jeff Sessions’ (R-Ala.) contention that supporting amnesty is not only incompatible with the rule of law, it is not necessary to win the Hispanic vote.

Nationwide, the survey found that only 1% of Americans believe illegal immigrants should get preference for newly-created jobs, and just 8% said more immigrants should be allowed into the country to fill jobs. 75% said they believe companies finding it difficult to fill positions should raise wages and improve working conditions to attract American workers.

Additionally, the poll reveals that black Americans are the racial demographic most opposed to recruiting illegal immigrants to fill American jobs, further suggesting that opposition to amnesty could actually help Republicans expand their support in traditionally Democratic strongholds, rather than further erode it, as some have suggested.

“The President remains wedded to a lawless policy that serves only the interest of an international elite while reducing jobs and benefits for everyday Americans,” Sen. Sessions said recently. “All net employment gains since the recession in 2007 have gone to foreign workers, and yet the President has violated federal law in order to provide work permits to 5 million illegal immigrants—allowing them to take any of the few good jobs that exist… Congress must use every tool at its disposal to stop this unlawful edict, end the immigration lawlessness, and reverse our slide towards congressional irrelevance.”

Here’s how the results of the survey broke down demographically.

Last week, Yellowhammer CEO Cliff Sims wrote an article outlining the strong likelihood that the majority of the U.S. population will be made up of racial minorities by 2044, due primarily to the influx of Hispanic immigrants coming across the Southern border.

But in spite of the Hispanic population being the demographic that is projected to grow the fastest in the coming years, there does not seem to have been any official ALGOP efforts to reach out to them. In their defense, the Alabama Democratic Party is such a disaster its hard for the state GOP to muster a sense of urgency.

One obstacle for Republicans may be that many pundits insist that a platform of amnesty is the only way to reach the growing Hispanic population. But the truth is, the GOP’s message of free markets and family values resonates well with a group of hard-working individuals known for their entrepreneurial spirit and deeply held religious beliefs.

But considering Republican congressional leadership’s recent decision to fund President Obama’s executive actions on illegal immigration, this poll appears to have fallen on deaf ears.