WASHINGTON -- A majority of Hispanics born in the United
States don't think illegal Hispanic immigrants should be given
drivers' licenses, according to a new poll.
Most foreign-born Hispanics disagree, according to the polling
for the Pew Hispanic Center.
Six in 10 Hispanics born in this country approve of measures
to prohibit illegal immigrants from getting drivers' licenses,
while two-thirds born in another country disapprove of such
measures.
The difference between foreign-born Hispanics and native-born
Hispanics on the driver's license issue highlights the
disparity between the two groups on several issues.
Foreign-born Hispanics take a more positive view than
native-born Hispanics on whether immigrants strengthen the
United States. Almost nine in 10 foreign-born Hispanics say
immigrants strengthen the country, while two-thirds of
Hispanics born in the United States feel that way, according
to the poll.
"Among Latinos in the United States, there's a majority
that views immigrants favorably, but there is a significant
minority concerned about unauthorized immigration into the
country and its impact," said Roberto Suro, director of
the Pew Hispanic Center.
Two-thirds of Hispanics in the U.S. said undocumented migrants
help the economy by providing low-cost labor. Again,
foreign-born Hispanics were more upbeat about the impact of
undocumented migrants than those born in this country.
Most Hispanics feel the number of immigrants coming in the
country should stay the same or be reduced, with only a third
saying the numbers should increase, according to the poll done
for Pew and another done for Time Magazine.
Three-fourths in a Time poll of 503 Hispanic adults said
people in the United States illegally are taking jobs that
U.S. citizens don't want. The Time poll was taken from July 28
to Aug. 3.
The Pew study also looked at how Mexicans feel about trying to
get into the United States.
Almost half of Mexicans, 46 percent, surveyed in May said they
would go to the U.S. if they could. About two in five said
they would be inclined to go live and work in the U.S. without
authorization.
"The desire to migrate is not a phenomenon of the poor
and poorly educated," Suro said. "The inclination to
migrate is powerful in the middle class in Mexico, even those
with college educations say they would go to the United States
if they could."
The survey of Hispanics in the United States was conducted for
the Pew Hispanic Center from June 14-27 by ICR and had
a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage
points. In Mexico, Pew surveyed 1,200 adults in May and the
margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage
points.
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On the Net:
Pew Hispanic Center _ http://www.pewhispanic.org