Large majority of Americans support local crackdowns on illegal aliens

By a margin of 68 to 25, Americans support crackdowns on illegal immigrants, and 1,000 of them told a nationwide telephone poll conducted February 22 to 26. The poll was conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research, a Pennsylvania firm.

Respondents were asked whether they support local ordinances recently passed in Hazleton, Pennsylvania that would suspend business licenses of employers who hire illegal aliens, penalize landlords who rent to illegal aliens with fines and make English the official language. “This poll shows we need to turn to our elected officials at the local level to take action on this issue, and not rely solely on the federal government to solve this problem,” said Hazelton Mayor Barletta.

The poll confirms that by a 67-26 margin, Americans would support an ordinance similar to Hazleton’s in their own communities. According to the survey, 61 percent don’t believe beefed-up border patrols, federal raids on businesses or other efforts that have been publicized recently are helping stem the flow of illegal immigrants, while only 6 percent believe they are helping “a lot” and 23 percent believe they are helping “a little.”

Results show broad-based majority support among many types of voters including those who identify themselves as Republicans (80 percent), Democrats (56 percent), Independents 68 percent), both males and females (68 percent), voters in all age groups and in all geographic regions of the country.