U.S. Border Control

Florida voters oppose immigration amnesty

March 5, 2005

Florida voters are opposed to a plan for immigration amnesty, according to a new poll. President Bush has advocated a guest-worker program that would give amnesty to at least some illegal immigrants in the United States.

Likely voters also oppose, by a 3-to-1 margin, letting states issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Some Republicans in Congress are pushing for a law that would prevent undocumented immigrants from using licenses for identification purposes.

The poll surveyed 600 likely voters in Florida in late February. It found that fewer than four in 10 likely voters in the state think immigration helps the United States.

Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa, said the poll results may reflect more about Floridians' concerns about national security than an anti-immigrant sentiment.

'I don't think it's so much immigration bashing as it is concerns about security and safety, since Florida is considered to be more vulnerable to terrorism than many other states,' MacManus said.

MacManus noted Floridians are especially mindful of the anthrax death that occurred at the American Media Inc. building in Boca Raton in 2001 and that a number of the 9-11 hijackers lived and trained in Florida before mounting the attacks on New York and Washington.

In the poll, Hispanics, 15 percent of the respondents, were no more supportive of immigration amnesty than other groups polled. Only 20 percent of the Hispanics favored a law allowing undocumented immigrants to work legally in the country, and only 20 percent favored issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants.

The attitudes of Floridians in general seemed to track with poll results nationally, although responses vary depending on who was polled and where in the country they were surveyed.

In a California Field Poll released this week, 68 percent of registered voters in that state opposed a plan to allow undocumented immigrants the right to get a driver's license.

Among all Californians, not just those registered to vote, 62 percent opposed such a plan. Among all Hispanics, the response was the opposite, with 64 percent in favor of giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, which advocates strict immigration control, said he is not surprised by the poll findings because Americans tend to oppose immigration. Krikorian said it is business leaders and others he calls elites that support immigration.

'It's the public that is concerned about immigration,' he said. 'It's the elite among Republicans and Democrats who like immigration.'