Toplines - Rasmussen Reports Immigration Index - February 21, 2024

National Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters
Conducted February 21, 2024

By Rasmussen Reports

 

1* On the question of illegal immigration, is the government doing too much or too little to reduce illegal border crossings and visitor overstays? Or is the level of action about right?

 

12% Too much
66% Too little
15% About right
7% Not sure

 

2* In trying to control illegal immigration, should the government mandate that all employers use the federal electronic E-Verify system to help ensure that they hire only legal workers for U.S. jobs?

 

66% Yes
19% No
15% Not sure

 

3* Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose giving lifetime work permits to most of the approximately two million illegal residents who came to this country when they were minors?

 

24% Strongly favor
26% Somewhat favor
15% Somewhat oppose

27% Strongly oppose

7% Not sure

 

4* Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose giving lifetime work permits to most of the estimated 12 million illegal residents of all ages who currently reside in the United States?

 

18% Strongly favor
20% Somewhat favor
18% Somewhat oppose

37% Strongly oppose

7% Not sure

 

5* Now, I'm going to ask you about authorized legal immigration: Recent federal policies have added about one million new permanent immigrants to the United States each year. Which is closest to the number of new immigrants the government should be adding each year -- fewer than 500,000, 750,000, one million, one and a half million, or more than one and a half million?

 

39% Fewer than 500,000

16% 750,000

18% One million

5% One and a half million

8% More than one and a half million

15% Not sure

 

6* Do you favor legal immigrants being allowed to bring with them only a spouse and minor children, or do you favor them also eventually bringing in other adult relatives in a process that can include extended family and their spouses' families?

 

61% You favor legal immigrants being allowed to bring with them only a spouse and minor children

26% You favor them also eventually bringing in other adult relatives in a process that can include extended family and their spouses' families

13% Not sure

 

7* When businesses say they are having trouble finding Americans to take jobs in construction, manufacturing, hospitality and other service work, what is generally best for the country?  Is it better for businesses to raise the pay and try harder to recruit non-working Americans even if it causes prices to rise, or is it better for the government to bring in new foreign workers to help keep business costs and prices down?

 

60% Better for businesses to raise the pay and try harder to recruit non-working Americans even if it causes prices to rise

23% Better for the government to bring in new foreign workers to help keep business costs and prices down

17% Not sure

 

8* Should Congress increase the number of foreign workers taking higher-skill U.S. jobs or does the country already have enough talented people to train and recruit for most of those jobs?

 

25% Increase the number of foreign workers taking higher-skill U.S. jobs

63% The country already has enough talented people to train and recruit for most of those jobs

13% Not sure

 

9* 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, do you favor continuing this level of immigration-driven population growth, slowing down immigration-driven population growth or having no immigration-driven population growth at all?

 

24% Continue immigration driven population growth at the current levels

43% Slow down immigration driven population growth

24% Have no immigration driven population growth at all

9% Not sure

 

10* Should immigration-driven population growth be reduced to limit the expansion of cities into U.S. wildlife habitats and farmland?

 

47% Yes
27% No
26% Not sure

 

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence