State Chamber Chief Hopes Immigration Reform Poll Data Persuades Congress

Randy Zook, CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce tells the Arkansas News Bureau that new polling data from Republican-leaning Congressional Districts nationwide could persuade federal leaders to tackle comprehensive immigration reform.

Currently, immigration reform is stalled in the U.S. House.

Zook shared polling data from 13 states, but the survey did not include Arkansas.

From John Lyon with our content partner, the Arkansas News Bureau:

Basswood Research interviewed a total of 1,000 likely voters on Nov. 2-3 in congressional districts in California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The margin of error for the overall sample was plus or minus 3.1 percent.

The poll found that across the entire sample group, 78 percent said they supported the comprehensive immigration reform bill known as the Dream Act and 16 percent said they opposed it.

Also, 80 percent said they supported use of the E-Verify system to check workers’ immigration status and 13 percent said they opposed it, while 71 percent said they supported an earned path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and 21 percent said they opposed it.

Seventy-two percent said they supported increased fines for employers who hire undocumented immigrants and 23 percent said they opposed them; 67 percent said they supported increasing border patrol and fencing and 24 percent said they opposed it; and 62 percent said they supported increasing legal immigration and 30 percent said they opposed it.

“I think this is proof that there is widespread support in the public across the country and that Congress can find good reason to move forward on immigration reform,” Zook said.

Read more on the subject at this link.