A recent poll indicates more Americans support reducing legal immigration and a majority back policies like mandatory E-Verify that prioritize American workers.
A poll released Tuesday by Rasmussen Reports found that 47% of likely voters thought the government should reduce the number of legal immigrants coming into the country annually. Approximately 1 million foreign nationals obtained lawful permanent residency in 2019, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security.
33% of respondents said the government should accept fewer than 500,000 immigrants each year and an additional 14% said the government should be accepting no more than 750,000 immigrants.
20% of respondents favored the current level of approximately 1 million immigrants accepted each year. 17% said the number should be greater than 1 million.
Immigrants participate in a naturalization ceremony in Chicago, Illinois (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
On the question of illegal immigration, the poll found that 36% of respondents thought the government was doing “too little” to reduce illegal border crossings and visa overstays. 63% said they supported mandating the federal electronic E-Verify system to make sure employers only hire legal workers.
63% of respondents also said businesses should raise pay and recruit American workers even if it causes consumer prices to go up. Only 21% said businesses should recruit new foreign workers to keep prices down. (RELATED: E-Verify Hasn’t Failed, But It Has Been Sabotaged)
A majority of likely voters also opposed an increase in the number of high-skilled foreign workers. 56% of respondents said “the country already has enough talented people” while a smaller 29% supported increasing the number of foreign workers taking high-skill jobs.
The poll found a split among likely voters over “lifetime work permits” for the estimated 12 million illegal aliens currently residing in the U.S.
Demonstrators hold signs and American flags during a rally in Santa Clara, California (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
48% of respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” opposed giving effective amnesty to the entire population of illegal aliens in the U.S. 45% of respondents were “strongly” or “somewhat” in favor.
A majority of likely voters did support “lifetime work permits” for the roughly two million illegal aliens who came to the U.S. as minors — many are protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
57% of respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” supported an effective amnesty for the two million illegal aliens who came to the U.S. as minors. 35% of respondents were “strongly” or “somewhat” opposed to it. (RELATED: Trump Will Refile Order Ending DACA ‘Soon’)
The poll surveyed 1,250 likely voters via automated calls between August 16-20. The poll had a margin of error of +/- three percentage points.