Less than half of Americans support a path toward citizenship for illegal immigrants, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) survey released Tuesday.
The New Middle on Immigration observed where Republican, Democratic, and Independent voters stood on immigration reform policies.
“Voters strongly believe that people living illegally in the United States should have a path to legal status, but it shouldn’t be ‘for free,'” the analysis said.
Forty-four percent of respondents supported amnesty for individuals that “passed background checks, paid ‘their fair share of taxes,’ and paid a monetary penalty,” according to the results. Another 25 percent, however, only wanted to provide a path to permanent legal status and not citizenship while less than 25 percent of respondents wanted illegal immigrants deported.
Along with reforming the path to citizenship, key focus areas for reform included “strong support for enforcement, a merit-based system that emphasizes an individual’s work-ethic and language capability in addition to family relationships or skills,” according to a Tuesday BPC press release.
“They [Americans] want to see immigration laws enforced, but they also want immigration laws that are understandable and fair,” BPC director of immigration and cross-border policy Theresa Cardinal Brown told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “They have compassion for the undocumented and for immigrants and they’re willing to be compassionate, but they want the system to have rules.”
Brown explained the survey asked several multiple choice, ranking questions. One question found respondents were most concerned about American benefits going to immigrants first (30 percent) while only seven percent were concerned about cultural assimilation of immigrants into American society. (RELATED: Trump Delivers Stark Message To Potential Illegal Immigrants)
While 66 percent of the respondents wanted immigrants to know conversational English, only 11 percent believed immigrants should be fluid in the language.
The analysis suggested bipartisan solutions could be possible if all parties recognized there was “a new middle on immigration, one further to the right than many realize.”
The nationwide survey was conducted in April and recruited 1,004 voters, consisting of 37 percent Republican, 39 percent Democratic, and 24 percent Independent voters. BPC Action also led two focus groups in Pittsburgh and Detroit, with 27 Republican, 28 Democratic, and five swing voters.
Three round table discussions with county and state officials were also conducted in partnership with National Council of State Legislatures and the National Association of Counties. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.