Apr 9, 2006 7:05 am US/Pacific
Poll: Immigration Worries Growing In U.S.
WASHINGTON (CBS) ―
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Opponents to immigration legislation rally in New York City on April 1, 2006.
Daniel Barry/Getty Images
Rising anxiety has pushed immigration close to the economy in the public's view of the most important problems facing this country, according to an AP-Ipsos poll. Those issues ranked slightly behind war in Iraq and elsewhere.
Immigration's rise in the latest survey about the nation's top problems suggests the public is keeping close watch on the immigration debate in Congress and reaction around the country.
Another march against immigration reform measures is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, this time in Dallas. The march is the latest protest in cities across the country aimed at stirring opposition Congressional action.
Efforts in the Senate to pass sweeping immigration legislation faltered Friday, leaving in doubt the prospects for passage of a compromise measure that offered the hope of citizenship to millions of men, women and children living in the United States illegally.
When people were asked this past week to name the top national problem that came to mind, 13 percent said immigration — four times the number who said that in January. Roughly the same number, 14 percent of those polled, named the economy, according to the poll of 500 adults conducted April 3-5. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
More than 11 million illegal immigrants are believed to be in this country now, with thousands more coming in all the time. About 1.2 million illegal immigrants were apprehended last year along the nation's southwest border with Mexico, according to immigration officials.
As immigration concerns have grown, economic worries have dipped. Only 14 percent now say the economy and related issues are their top concern, compared with 24 percent in October.
About one in five, 19 percent, said they view war as the nation's top problem.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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