Immigration Facts: More Americans Side With Democrats

Today, Gallup Polls has released the outcome of a survey it did on the views of Americans on immigration and on how those views pair up with the Democratic and Republican parties's views. According to the recent survey, it looks like the Republican Party is facing some tough times ahead in its own efforts to reform the immigration system and gain greater public support.

Gallup's June 13-July 5 Minority Rights and Relations poll of 4,373 U.S. adults revealed the results, as seen in the graphs below. The survey included interviews with 1,000 Hispanics, 1,010 non-Hispanic blacks, and 2,149 non-Hispanic whites. The survey revealed that 60% of Hispanics aligned themselves more with the Democratic Party on immigration, while 26% agree more with the Republican Party. The survey also uncovered that blacks also lean with the Democratic Party on immigration policy, with a full 70% saying the party's views on immigration are closer to their own. Among non-Hispanic whites, the surveyed population was roughly equal, with 42% aligning with the Republican Party and 41% aligning with the Democratic perspective on immigration. Overall, 48% of American adults identified that they aligned with the Democratic Party on immigration, while 36% said the Republican party's views were closer to their own. A full 17% were of no opinion or not in support of either party's immigration plans.

These statistics reveal a severe gap in between the public perception of the Republican Party's immigration efforts and the GOP's own perspective on immigration. More and more Americans over the recent past have supported the reform and opening of the immigration process; however, it seems that in the course of the legislative history of both parties, the Republican efforts have been greeted with less support as a whole. When issues such tightened security on the border and background checks by employers on immigration statuses are also considered, the Democratic Party supports these individual proposals more than Republicans do. Yet the Republican Party has not been able to cement its dedication to the reform of the immigration system in the minds of the American public.

The failure to become the champion of immigration reform, or at least to be publicly seen as the party of immigration reform, does not pose as imminent a threat to the party as some might think. The Republican Party needs to contemplate new methods in its efforts to gain traction further than immigration reform. Right-wing support for immigration reform was never going to bring a huge turnaround in terms of new Republican voters. But it could begin a transition, a slow one at that, where more and more Hispanic voters would side with the Republican Party. With a Congressional bill potentially being crafted through a Republican lens, there is still hope that the GOP can leave a positive impact on the immigration reform landscape and sway more voters to their party lines.