Immigration polls
Rasmussen has a new poll on gaining control of the border, and the question is a mess.
In terms of immigration legislation, which is more important - gaining control of the border or legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States?
Several problems here. First, "gaining control" isn't defined and on one has ever defined it. So many people will think it's more important, even though they're not sure what it is and it may not be possible. Second, the question clearly leads respondents to believe that border security and adjustment of status are mutually exclusive, when they're not. So if you read a news article saying 60% people want to control the border, be careful about what conclusions you take from that.
For example, a Republican polling firm, Tarrance, reports that the overwhelming majority of Republicans--even Tea Partiers--support a guest worker program.
The Wall Street Journal reporter sums up exactly what I've been writing on this blog for years.
The electorate seems to appreciate that foreign nationals fill niches in the workforce that help grow the U.S. economy -- and that giving these economic migrants more legal ways to enter the country means that fewer will come illegally. Could it be that voters have a more sophisticated understanding of human capital and labor markets than politicians give them credit for?
Absolutely. Americans are far less divided on this issue than many politicians would have you believe, and there is more support for common sense than the presidential primaries would suggest.
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68 U. S. House Democrats invoked the name of slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin on Tuesday as they filed a challenge to Arizona's SB 107 - The friend-of-the-court brief argues that SB 1070 is unconstitutional because it pre-empts federal authority. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, led the push for the brief
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said a law like SB 1070 will give police "the right to be judge and jury," which could have disastrous results "in a nation where we all are different."
''In one case, a hoodie equals suspicion," she said. "In another case, it is a tanness of your skin, or the coloration of your skin, or maybe the configuration of your face."
Arizona Central
U. S. House Democrats file SB 1070 challenge with Supreme Court
by Dustin Volz
March 27, 2012
Cronkite News Service
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/03/27/20120327arizona-immigration-law-democrat-supreme-court-challenge-1070-trayvon.html
Some excerpts :
WASHINGTON -- House Democrats invoked the name of slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin on Tuesday as they filed a challenge to Arizona's SB 1070, the immigration law to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court next month.
The friend-of-the-court brief from 68 Democrats - including both from Arizona - argues that SB 1070 is unconstitutional because it pre-empts federal authority. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, led the push for the brief.
But much of the discussion at Tuesday's news conference centered on Martin, the unarmed Black teen killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer who said he was acting in self-defense when he shot the hoodie-wearing youth last month.
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The debate moves to the Supreme Court on April 25, when the justices will be asked to decide if SB 1070 is an intrusion on federal authority, as the Justice Department claims.
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