Rasmussen Reports Weekly Immigration Index - Week Ending January 9, 2020

The Rasmussen Reports Immigration Index for the week of January 5-9, 2020 is at 99.7, up slightly from 98.4 the week before.

The Index is based on a series of questions designed to determine whether voters are moving toward an immigration system that encourages more immigration to the United States or a one that reduces the level of immigration here. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

All surveys are compared to a baseline – set the week of December 2-6, 2019 - which has been given an Index of 100. A weekly finding moving up over 100 indicates growing support for a more expansive immigration system. A weekly index number falling below 100 indicates increased support for a more restrictive immigration system.

Because weekly surveying for the Index has just begun, however, it is too early to draw any conclusions. Like all tracking surveys, it is best understood over time.

Crosstabs, topline responses and historical data are also available to the public.

The Immigration Index will be updated every Tuesday at noon Eastern.

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Among the findings in the latest survey, 43% of voters say the government is doing too little to reduce illegal border crossings and visitor overstays. Thirty-one percent (31%) think it’s doing too much, while 17% rate the level of action as about right.

When it comes to legal immigration, 46% say the government should be adding no more than 750,000 new immigrants each year, with 32% who say it should be fewer than 500,000. Thirty-eight percent (38%) favor adding one million or more legal newcomers per year, including 11% who say the figure should be higher than 1.5 million. Fifteen percent (15%) are undecided.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters favor allowing legal immigrants to bring only their spouse and minor children with them. Just 30% support allowing them to eventually bring other adult relatives in a process that can include extended family and their spouses’ families. Eleven percent (11%) are not sure.

Only 26% of voters think Congress should increase the number of foreign workers taking higher-skill U.S. jobs. Fifty-seven percent (57%) believe instead that the country already has enough talented people to train and recruit for most of those jobs. Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided.

The Census Bureau projects that current immigration policies are responsible for most U.S. population growth and will add 75 million people over the next 40 years. In terms of the effect on the overall quality of life in the United States, just 33% of voters want to continue immigration-driven population growth at the current levels. Forty-two percent (42%) favor slowing down immigration-driven population growth, while 13% want to have no such population growth at all.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) think immigration-driven population growth should be reduced to limit the expansion of cities into U.S. wildlife habitats and farmland. Twenty-nine percent (29%) disagree, while 34% are not sure.