Texans oppose a border wall, and most Texans do not want to see millions of illegal immigrants deported, according to a new non partisan Texas Lyceum poll unveiled today, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"The majority of Texas adults still see immigration as helping the U.S. more than it hurts," Texas Lyceum Research Director Joshua Blank told News Radio 1200 WOAI's Megan Bishop. “And looking ahead, there is still a large group of Texans, both Democrats and Republicans, who are in favor of more of the policies that we consider to be part of immigration reform.”
The Texas Lyceum, a statewide leadership group, regularly conducts polls in conjunction with major events. Today’s poll was released as the 2017 session of the Legislature.
The poll shows 61% of Texas adults oppose President Trump’s proposal to build a border wall. 58% of Texans say they ‘oppose the way President Trump is handling the issue of immigration and border security.'
62% of Texans say ‘immigration helps Texas more than it hurts,’ and 66% say today’s immigrants are not ready to assimilate, and ‘retain their own cultures and values’ in Texas.
For those who oppose illegal immigration, 19% cite safety and criminality of immigrants, followed by 17% who are concerned they take jobs away from citizens, and 13% simply say they feel that all people should follow the law in all things, including immigration.
Only 8% of Texans feel that immigrants are terrorists or a threat to national security.
63% of Texans say they feel illegal immigrants now living in Texas should be allowed to become legal U.S. citizens if they ‘pay back taxes and a penalty, learn English, pass a criminal background check’ and go through a vetting process. That is essentially the ‘Gang of Eight’ immigration bill which was blasted as ‘amnesty’ when it was floated in 2012.45% of Texans support the concept of ‘Sanctuary Cities,’ under the Texas Lyceum poll, while 49% do not support.
The poll shows attitudes about immigration becoming generally more liberal the younger the Texan becomes. 80% of 18-29 year old Texans say immigration helps more than it hurts, compared with just 46% of those over age 65.