Perhaps at this point the hottest issue in terms of the partisan battle between the two parties and the president, is that of immigration. And so, we did a deep dive into immigration this month. Once again, we find overwhelming support for what is generally called comprehensive immigration reform, 73%. Generally, that means finding a path to work permits, possibly citizenship, for those who are here on an undocumented basis, along with all the DACA children or young adults. And at the same also fixing elements of the system and how it works to include more merit, and really fixing border security. That's really seen as comprehensive immigration reform. And there's overwhelming support for a support for a compromise that just never seems to happen.
So, we went a little deeper. Should we go from a system that gives preference to the relatives of legal migrants, or should we change to a merit-based system? Narrow, 51, 49, change to a merit-based system. That really means I think that the public supports a combination of merit and family relatives, and not make it an either/or choice.
When it comes to legal immigration, do you think we have too much, too little, or about right? 45% say about right, 23% too little, 32% too much. No clear answer, other than there's very little support for increasing overall immigration. How many legal immigrants would you say reside in the United States today? I think this answer was all over the lot. One to five million was the most common answer, if you look at the estimates. They thought between one and five million legal immigrants, that's probably a vast underestimating of the real number of legal immigrants who reside in the United States, because it is tremendous numbers of people who are here legally.
In your view, how much do legal immigrants in the United States rely on public services such as food stamps, public housing, and Medicaid? 31%, a lot. 25, somewhat. 26%, a little. 6%, not at all. Should legal immigrants who pay taxes be able to access public benefits? Yes, absolutely, 89%. Should legal immigrants who pay taxes be able to access public benefits regardless of the amount of money they earn? 68%, yes. Do legal immigrants in the United States contribute more in taxes than they draw in support from the federal and local governments? Yes, 48. No, 52. Kind of a close question on that.
Should the United States welcome poor immigrants from around the world who seek a fresh start, more opportunity than where they come from, or should the US restrict legal immigration to wealthier immigrants of means? 71% of the American public says welcome poor immigrants. So, they don't want to means test all immigration. They may want to merit test a good part of it, but not means test it. They want to keep those who are in poorer countries to have an ability to share the great opportunity that can be found here in America.
Should an applicant who is educated and has a strong lifetime earning potential, but is currently poor and low income, be granted legal immigration? Ah, here's where means and merit come together. 85% say yes. Should an applicant who is wealthy but has poor health be granted legal immigration? Still 65%. Do you think it's un-American to deny poor immigrants’ access to legal immigration? 61% say yes. So, you see, there's a tremendous amount of compassion and heart out there in America for people who want to immigrate to the United States of America. Do you think it's un-American to deny poor immigrants permanent legal residence known as a green card? 60% say yes.
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