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More Americans Favor Than Oppose Arizona Immigration Law
Politics

More Americans Favor Than Oppose Arizona Immigration Law

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PRINCETON, NJ -- More than three-quarters of Americans have heard about the state of Arizona's new immigration law, and of these, 51% say they favor it and 39% oppose it.

Based on What You Know or Have Read About the New Arizona Immigration Law, Do You Favor or Oppose It? Among All Americans and Among Those Who Have Heard of Law

These results are based on a new Â鶹´«Ã½AV poll conducted April 27-28, in the days after Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's signing the bill into law. The law makes it a state crime for illegal immigrants to be in the country, and allows Arizona law enforcement officials to detain those suspected of being in the country illegally unless they can prove otherwise. The law has sparked protests in Arizona and other parts of the U.S., and calls for economic boycotts of the state.

Nationally, 62% of Republicans support the law (including 75% of Republicans who have heard about it). Democrats are more likely to oppose (45%) than favor (27%) the law, and a majority of Democrats familiar with the law (56%) oppose it. Independents are somewhat more likely to favor (37%) than oppose (29%) the law, with half of those who have heard about it in favor.

Views of Arizona Immigration Law, by Political Party

A total of 78% of Americans say they have heard or read something about the law, with more than half reporting a great deal (24%) or fair amount (34%) of exposure. These figures are similar by party group.

How Much Have You Heard or Read About a New Immigration Law That Was Just Passed in the State of Arizona?

Regardless of their level of self-reported familiarity with the Arizona law, Americans are generally more supportive of than opposed to it. Note that the poll did not attempt to measure actual knowledge about the law or describe the various provisions of the law to respondents.

Views of Arizona Immigration Law, by Familiarity With the Bill

Bottom Line

Most Americans have heard about Arizona's tough new immigration law, and they generally support it. The law was passed partly in response to a lack of federal action on the issue. Since the Arizona bill became law, congressional Democrats have considered taking up the issue in the coming weeks, though this initial read on public opinion toward the Arizona law suggests Americans may not necessarily back an attempt to supersede or otherwise undermine it.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,013 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted April 27-28, 2010. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones (for respondents with a landline telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell phone only).

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.


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