On May 23, 2007, at 4:14 PM, Charles Brown wrote:
> There is anti-immigration sentiment in some Black people, but that
> it is
> decidedly more concentrated than in the white population is
> debatable, a
> debate which Doug might have some empirical evidence based opinion
> figures.
Here's one piece of evidence - the exit poll from Prop 187, the 1994 anti-immigrant ballot initiative in California. About 2/3 of whites were for it, and about 1/2 of blacks. No demographic group was more for it than white men. Below that, an excerpt from a Pew poll on whether the children of immigrants born in the U.S. should still be given citizenship at birth; again, whites take a more nativist line than blacks. Also, white evangelical Protestants, the object of rehabilitation among some generous lefties, are the demographic group most likely (51%) to see immigration as a "very big problem" <http:// people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=1046>. And blacks and whites are equally likely to see immigrants as a burden rather than a contribution (51-52%) <http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3? PageID=1047>.
Doug
====
<http://field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/COI-94-95-Jan- Election.pdf>
Table 6 Voter Preferences on Proposition 187, the Illegal Alien Initiative
Yes No Statewide Total 59% 41 Region (.24) Los Angeles County 56% 44 (.23) San Francisco Bay Area 45% 55 (.17) San Diego/Orange 67% 33 (.15) Central Valley 66% 34 (.08) Inland Empire 70% 30 (.07) Central Coast 60% 40 (.06) North Coast/Sierras 68% 32 Party identification (.40) Democrat 40% 60 (.40) Republican 76% 24 (.20) Independent/other 61% 39 Political ideology (.37) Conservative 76% 24 (.45) Moderate 56% 44 (.18) Liberal 32% 68 Sex (.49) Male 62% 38 (.51) Female 56% 44 Ethnicity (.78) White (non-Hispanic) 64% 36
(.38) Men 69% 31
(.40) Women 59% 41 (.09) Latino 27% 73 (.07) Black 52% 48 (.06) Asian 52% 48 Age (.14) 18-29 49% 51 (.43) 30-49 58% 42 (.17) 50-59 59% 41 (.26) 60 or older 66% 34 Education (.22) High school or less 64% 36 (.34) Some college 64% 36 (.27) College graduate 54% 46 (.17) Post graduate degree 48% 52 Household income (.15) Under $20,000 53% 47 (.25) $20,000-$40,000 60% 40 (.24) $40,000-$60,000 59% 41 (.36) More than $60,000 58% 42 Religion (.48) Protestant 69% 31 (.27) Roman Catholic 49% 51 (.05) Jewish 45% 55 (.08) Other 53% 47 (.12) No preference 48% 52 U.S. residency status (.25) 1st or 2nd generation citizen 52% 48 (.75) 3rd generation or more 60% 40
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<http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=1048>
Opinion is more closely divided on another point of law regarding the children of unauthorized migrants. Under the Constitution anyone born in the United States is automatically a U.S. citizen regardless of their parents' immigration status. A slim majority of Americans (54%) favor keeping the Constitution as it is while a substantial minority (42%) would like to change it so that parents would have to be legal residents of the U.S. for a newborn to be a citizen.
Levels of support for a change in the constitutional definition of citizenship vary significantly by race, education and political ideology. Whites (47%) back the idea more than either blacks (36%) or Hispanics (23%). Among whites, support is notably higher among those with less than a college education (50%) than with those with a degree from a four-year college (36%).