• 76% of those polled prefer legal immigration less than current levels of almost one million a year.
• 58% prefer legal immigration levels of less than 300,000 a year.
• 85% believe illegal immigration is a "serious" problem.
• 55% believe illegal immigration is a "very serious" problem.
• 68% agree with halting illegal immigration as a goal.
• 67% agree with a goal of reducing the number of illegal aliens now present in the United States to near zero.
• 87% agree and 69% strongly agree that the Federal government should strictly enforce present laws calling for criminal penalties for employers who, after having been repeatedly fined, continue to knowingly hire illegal aliens.
• 88% agree and 68% strongly agree that Congress should pass a law requiring state and local government agencies to notify both the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and their local law enforcement agency when they determine that a person is here illegally, or has presented a false identification document.
• 85% agree and 62% strongly agree that Congress should pass a law requiring state and local governments, and law enforcement agencies, to apprehend and turn over to the INS illegal aliens with whom they come in contact.
• 83% support mandatory detention and forfeiture of property, followed by deportation for anyone here illegally.
• 70% support a mandatory prison term and forfeiture of property, followed by deportation, for anyone here illegally.

• 58 percent of Mexicans agree with the statement, "The territory of the United States' southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico." 28 percent disagreed, and 14 percent were unsure.
 
• 57 percent, a similar number, agreed with the statement that "Mexicans should have the right to enter the U.S. without U.S. permission." 35 percent disagreed and 7 percent were nsure.
 
• Yet 58 percent of Americans want the government to admit fewer immigrants each year. 30 percent want to keep immigration at current levels and 6 percent want to admit more.
 
• 65 percent of Americans don't support granting amnesty to illegal aliens.
 
• 68 percent agreed that U.S. troops should be temporarily deployed along the U.S. border.
 
• Thus, there is a clear disconnect between the attitudes of Americans and Mexicans, and between the additudes of Americans and their government.

• 71% expressed concern that the quality of life will deteriorate if current population and growth trends continue.
• Put in starker terms, 72% of Colorado voters think that the current pace of population growth is an outright threat to the quality of life in Colorado.
• An overwhelming majority of Colorado voters think that Colorado's projected 49% population increase over the next 25 years is an "urgent" problem.
• The survey reveals that a majority (64%) of Colorado voters have made the connection between sprawl and its root cause, increased population.
• An overwhelming majority (82%) think that the current pace of development and population growth is a serious threat to Colorado's natural resources, such as the Rocky Mountains, national and state parks, rivers, and open space.
• A majority (61%) of Colorado voters want the federal government to lower immigration levels to reduce the environmental impact and development pressures on communities across the nation.
• 70% of voters said that the state and federal leaders have a "responsibility to enact policies that reduce development and halt population so that a high quality of life, a health environment, and a sound economy can be maintained."
• A majority of voters (56%) would be willing to pay more in taxes to preserve open space and reduce population growth.

by a 60 percent to 29 percent margin, Americans oppose the idea proposed by Democrats of granting amnesty to the estimated 6 million to 11 million illegal aliens residing in the United States. The poll also found that the public rejects President Bush's proposal to give a more limited amnesty to some 3 million illegal immigrants from Mexico, by a 59 percent to 31 percent margin.

Q. "There should be tightened restrictions placed on immigration."
A. "Strongly agree" - 66%,

Q. "In your view, should immigration be kept at its present level, increased or decreased?"
A. "Present level" - 30%, "Increased" - 8%, "Decreased" - 58%,

Q. "Do you think the U.S. should or should not make it easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens?"
A. "Should" - 28%, "Should not" - 67%. [Those who answered "should" were asked if they supported a "general amnesty" or if they would limit their support to those who "have worked and paid taxes for a certain length of time." Of the 26%, 20% conditioned their support, 6% supported general amnesty, and 2% had no preference].

Q. "How strongly do you support or oppose a general amnesty program for all of the estimated 8 to 11 million illegal immigrants living here?"
A. "Strongly support" - 9%, "Somewhat support" - 20%, "Neither" - 9%, "Somewhat oppose" - 19%, "Strongly oppose" - 42%.
 
Q. "Does the presence of illegal immigrants in this country concern you?"
A. "A great deal" - 39 %, "Somewhat" - 43%, "Not at all" - 17%.
 
Q. "Which of the following statements most accurately reflects your opinion about illegal immigration?"
A. [It] "is a serious problem and the government is not doing an adequate job of stopping it." - 54%, [It} "is somewhat of a problem, but the government is doing an adequate job of dealing with it." - 27%, [It] "is not a problem for the United States, and we can accommodate people who come here." - 14%.
 
Q. "In your opinion, should the U.S. grant amnesty to illegal immigrants living here and allow them to become legal residents?"
A. "Yes" - 32%, "No" - 45%, "Only under certain circumstances" (volunteered) - 18%.
 
Q. "Overall, do you believe that illegal immigrants are a net benefit to the U.S. or a net drain on taxpayer-funded social services?"
A. "Net benefit" - 24%, "Net drain" - 64%.

• Nearly three-quarters of the respondents opposed a law that would give illegal residents reduced tuition to state colleges and universities. Although immigrants were less strongly opposed to the proposal, a majority was in opposition along with large majorities of other voters.
• A similar large majority agreed that if immigrants go on welfare their sponsors should be required to reimburse the state.
• Two-thirds of those surveyed opposed a proposed California law to grant driver's licenses to illegal residents. More immigrants (71%) than U.S. citizens (67%) oppose such a law.
• A majority (62%) viewed continued immigration as complicating efforts to reform the state's educational system. Most ethnic groups believe continued immigration makes state education reform more difficult. The majority agreement comes from African Americans (67%-28%, Hispanics (66%-27%) and whites (65%-31%).
• A clear majority of California voters agreed that employers should have to certify that there are no American workers available for a job before a foreign worker can be hired. Immigrants agree with this proposition even more strongly than native-born citizens (83% compared to 68%).
• A majority (56%-27%) agreed that children of immigrants have contributed to school overcrowding.
• A majority (50%-34%) opposed the proposal to grant an amnesty to illegally resident aliens.
• A plurality of respondents agreed that a three-year moratorium, or suspension of legal immigration would benefit California. This view was supported more broadly among African Americans (65%-24%) than any other group. A majority of Hispanics disagreed (34%-56%).
• A plurality (40%-36%) agrees that immigrants have contributed to California's housing shortage.

Among Hispanics, three-and-one-half times as many respondents viewed current immigration as "too open" compared with those who viewed it as "too closed."

• Nearly 60 percent of Florida voters say adding another 5 million residents to Florida's population [the amount of increase now projected by 2025] is either an "extremely serious" or "serious" problem.
• Over 70 percent believe Florida's overcrowding and overpopulation is a major problem.
• 68 percent agree that "Florida would be better-off in the long term with a smaller population to maintain a sound economy and a healthy environment."
• A similar number want immigration scaled back.

"Despite an unemployment rate that is the lowest in three decades, by a more than 3-to-1 margin respondents said the U.S. shouldn't allow more immigrants into the country because they take jobs that Americans should have" ["should not" - 72%, "should" - 20%, "not sure" - 8%].

Question: "Do you think immigration strengthens or weakens the American character?"
Response: By a margin of about three to two among 2,004 respondents, most said "weakens." There was no statistically significant difference between males and females, or whites and blacks supporting this view. But immigrants who responded disagreed. They thought they "strengthen" the U.S. by a margin of about 13 to seven. (Source: Wall Street Journal, March 5, 1998)

83 percent favor a lower level of immigration.