Immigration Reform: The Voters’ Outlook

1. HART RESEARCH A S S O C I A T E S Immigration Reform: The Voters’ Outlook Key findings from nationwide telephone survey among 1,003 2012 votersconducted January 7 – 10, 2013

2. Immigration Is Good For America Overall View Of Immigration All Voters Bad thing for America today Good thing for America today GoodThing 74%60%58% 63%70%69% BadThing 14%23%28% 24%13%13% Notsure DemocratsIndependentsRepublicans WhitesAfrican AmericansHispanics

3. Immigration System Is Not Working How would you describe the state of the immigration system today? All Voters 75% 48% of voters say that fixing the immigration system should be a high priority for Congress. Needs complete overhaul 46% 20% Very well  Working well Not working well/overhaul

4. Public’s Goals For Immigration Reform This should be a high priority* for reforming the immigration system: 89% 83% 79% 73% 71% 66% 63% 51% 40% Make sure all immigrants pay taxes Require employers to verify that all employees are legal Pass a long-term solution that fixes the immigration problem once and for all Do more to secure the border to stop people from entering the country illegally Prevent employers from lowering wages by exploiting immigrant workers Prevent illegal immigrants from coming into the country in the future Ensure that immigrants who came to the United States illegally become legal and have the opportunity to work toward citizenship Help unite families here that have been separated by our current immigration laws Deport all immigrants who have entered the United States illegally * Seven-to-10 rating on a zero-to-10 scale, 10 = should be the single most important goal

5. Public’s Goals For Immigration Reform: Democrats/Republicans This should be a high priority* for reforming the immigration system: Demo-crats 84% 74% 78% 59% 75% 50% 72% 65% 28% Repub-licans 93% 93% 83% 87% 70% 82% 53% 38% 52% Make sure all immigrants pay taxes Require employers to verify that all employees are legal Pass a long-term solution that fixes the immigration problem once and for all Do more to secure the border to stop people from entering the country illegally Prevent employers from lowering wages by exploiting immigrant workers Prevent illegal immigrants from coming into the country in the future Ensure that immigrants who came to the United States illegally become legal and have the opportunity to work toward citizenship Help unite families here that have been separated by our current immigration laws Deport all immigrants who have entered the United States illegally * Seven-to-10 rating on a zero-to-10 scale, 10 = should be the single most important goal

6. and have the opportunity to work toward citizenship but not be given a chance to earn citizenship Voters Want Legal Status To Include Chance For Earned Citizenship This should be a high priority* for reforming the immigration system: Ensure that immigrants who came to the United States illegally become legal… Moderates ALLVOTERS Demo-crats Inde-pendents Repub-licans Liberals Conser-vatives * Seven-to-10 rating on a zero-to-10 scale, 10 = should be the single most important goal

7. By Itself, A Path To Citizenship Creates An Interesting Political Dynamic Ensure that immigrants who came to the United States illegally become legaland have the opportunity to work toward citizenship. Mean ratings 6.4 Independents 7.4 1st Generation Immigrant 6.9 2nd Generation Immigrant + 6.3 GOP Primary Voters 5 10 In The Middle Single Most Important Goal 7.4 Less than $50k 6.5 Union 6.3 Republicans 7.0 $50k-$100k 7.7 Democrats

8. Voters Say Border Security And Legal Status Are Both Important With which statement about immigration do you agree more? The first priority on immigration should be getting control of our border. Until we do that, we should not be granting legal status to those who came here illegally, as it will just invite more illegal border crossings. Improving border security and fixing our broken immigration system are both important. We should require immigrants to become legal and pay taxes, while also improving border security.

9. The first priority on immigration should be getting control of our border. Until we do that, we should not be granting legal status to those who came here illegally, as it will just invite more illegal border crossings. Improving border security and fixing our broken immigration system are both important. We should require immigrants to become legal and pay taxes, while also improving border security. However, There Are Areas Of Partisan Friction As Voters Wrestle With Different Concepts With which statement about immigration do you agree more? Democrats Independents Republicans

10. Description Of Main Elements • Strengthens border security by deploying better technology and focusing enforcement resources on the most serious security threats. • Requires employers to verify that all employees are legal, and any companies that employ illegal immigrants would pay large fines. • Illegal immigrants already in the United States with no criminal record would be required to register for legal status, learn English, and pay taxes, and they could work toward citizenship over time. • Ties the amount of legal immigration to the state of the economy, increasing it when employers cannot fill jobs and decreasing immigration levels when unemployment is high. Strong Support For Immigration Reform Plan Reaction To Immigration Reform Plan All Voters 77% Strongly 38% 14% Strongly 6% Approve Disapprove

11. Support for Immigration Reform Plan Crosses Partisan, Ideological Divides Reaction To Immigration Reform Plan TotalApprove 77%72%80% 76%82%80% 77%76%77% 81%77%77%72% 81%77%76% All Voters DemocratsIndependentsRepublicans Very conservative GOPs GOP primary voters Republican CDs WhitesAfrican AmericansHispanics Age 18 to 34Age 35 to 49Age 50 to 64Age 65/over High school/less educationSome collegeCollege graduates 77% Strongly 38% 14% Strongly 6% Approve Disapprove

12. Democrats 56%Republicans 58% Support For Individual Immigration Reform Policies Strongly approve Somewhat approve Illegal immigrants required to pay taxes Border security: better technology, focus Illegals with no criminal record must register for legal status Employers verify employees legal, large fines if employ illegals Work toward citizenship only if registered, learn English, pay taxes Illegal immigrants must learn English Legal immigration tied to economy/unemployment rate 94% 92% 89% 88% 85% 83% 57%

13. MoreLikely 56%47%53% 50%55%53%54% LessLikely 7%11% 8% 8% 6% 7%12% DemocratsIndependentsRepublicans NortheastSouthMidwestWest Voters More Likely To Support Pro-Reform Candidates How would it affect your vote for your Member of Congress if he/she voted for this immigration reform plan? All Voters More LikelyTo Vote Less LikelyTo Vote Wouldn’tAffect Vote

14. If Immigrants Become Legal, Earned Citizenship Should Be Available If immigration reform establishes legal status for people who originally entered the country illegally, which is the better way to do that? It would be better to give people a chance to eventually earn citizenship at some point after they register for legal status, pass a background check, learn English, and pay taxes. They should be allowed to qualify for legal status and work in the United States but should never be given the chance to earn citizenship. Neither/should not be given legal status (VOL) Republicans: Chance to earn citizenship 83% Legal status/not citizenship 10%

15. Debating Immigration Reform:Amnesty? With which statement about the immigration reform plan do you agree more? OPPONENTS say this is just amnesty for illegal immigrants. The plan rewards millions of illegal immigrants who broke the law, at the expense of others who waited in their home country and played by the rules. SUPPORTERS say this is not amnesty, it's accountability. The plan requires those here illegally to pay taxes, learn English, and pass a criminal background check before they can become legal and stay in the United States. Opponents Supporters

16. Debating Immigration Reform:Unfair To Legal Immigrants? With which statement about the immigration reform plan do you agree more? OPPONENTS say it is not fair to let illegal immigrants become legal ahead of people who have followed the rules and applied to come here legally. If they found a way to get here, they can find a way to get home and then apply to come to the United States the right way. SUPPORTERS say it's not realistic to deport 12 million immigrants. And this plan requires illegal immigrants to go to the back of the line and wait their turn behind those immigrants who came to the United States legally, before receiving citizenship. Opponents Supporters

17. Supporters Opponents Debating Immigration Reform:Unfair To Legal Immigrants? With which statement about the immigration reform plan do you agree more? OPPONENTS say it is not fair to let illegal immigrants become legal ahead of people who have followed the rules and applied to come here legally. If they found a way to get here, they can find a way to get home and then apply to come to the United States the right way. SUPPORTERS say it's not realistic to deport 12 million immigrants. And this plan requires illegal immigrants to go to the back of the line and wait their turn behind those immigrants who came to the United States legally, before receiving citizenship. Democrats Independents Republicans

18. Debating Immigration Reform:Americans Out Of Work With which statement about the immigration reform plan do you agree more? OPPONENTS say that with millions of Americans out of work, now is not the time to increase immigration and make it easier for illegal immigrants to stay here. We need to take care of Americans first before we reward those who have broken our laws with amnesty. SUPPORTERS say this plan cracks down on illegal hiring by requiring employers to verify workers’ legal status and increasing penalties for those who hire illegal immigrants, so that American workers’ wages are not undermined. America is stronger when immigrants get legal and pay taxes. WhitesAf-Am. 60%61% WhitesAf-Am. 31%31% Opponents Supporters

19. After Debate, Support For Immigration Reform Remains Strong Reaction To Immigration Reform Plan Initial Support Support After Debate 80% 77% Strongly 39% Strongly 38% 14% 14% Strongly 6% Strongly 6% Approve Disapprove Approve Disapprove

20. The Bottom Line For Immigration Reform • Importantly, an opportunity to earn citizenship is on the table, and can achieve bipartisan support as part of a comprehensive plan to fix the immigration system. • However, it is important to remember that the primary drivers of support for reform are Americans’ desire to secure the border, prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants, and ensure that immigrants become legal taxpayers. • Addressing concerns like taxes and border security helps create the foundation for a plan that many voters see as “accountable.” This is particularly important to Republicans and independents. • Americans express a desire to resolve the immigration issue once and for all. This is not a debate they want to revisit.

21. HART RESEARCH A S S O C I A T E S Immigration Reform: The Voters’ Outlook Key findings from nationwide telephone survey among 1,003 2012 votersconducted January 7 – 10, 2013