Immigration Reform 2013: New Poll Shows Elderly Whites Are Most Opposed to Immigration

Exactly a day (well, 21 hours) after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) shattered all hopes for a "legislative negotiation" on immigration this year, the College Board/National Journal released results of the Next America Poll, which states that 56% of 1,272 adults ages 18 and over disagree with the statement: "The growing number of newcomers from other countries are a great threat to traditional American customs and values." What a slap in the face.

According to the National Journal, 63% percent of the adults agreed that "immigrants coming to this country today … mostly take jobs Americans don't want." Among those 63% percent are African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic, and college-educated Caucasian Americans. Nineteen percent, however, said immigrants "mostly take jobs away from American citizens." Really? It seems to me that this quote is the definition of competition. It doesn't specifically apply to immigrants because there is constant competition in the job market, especially among college graduates who are jostling for employment. Immigrants can't take jobs away from citizens if they aren't qualified.

This minuscule percentage is mostly composed of whites without a college education and whites over 50 years old. Really, it's no surprise that uneducated and older Caucasian Americans are worried about mass immigration. After all, there's a reason why they're such strong proponents of the GOP. They're probably used to living the same way their entire lives. Essentially, they like their comfort zone and immigration creates uncertainty because it welcomes foreign ideas and values that aren't necessarily "American."

Regardless, the fact that a measly 41% of people feel threatened by it really goes to show that there is no stopping the reform. Boehner can push legislation to the back burner as many times as he wants, but it will definitely come back to bite him and his party. The acceptance of immigration has increased since the spring of 2009 by 6%. Boehner is only allowing more people to get used to the idea the longer he waits.