Even Biased Poll Shows Decreased Appetite for Amnesty

By Robert Law on March 25, 2021

In the March 24, 2021, issue of Politico Playbook, the media outlet highlighted its own Politico/Morning Consult poll showing “declining support” for providing amnesty and a path to citizenship for illegal aliens across the political spectrum. The poll was conducted between March 19-22, as the Biden border crisis worsened, among 1,994 registered voters. Specifically, Politico notes that, compared to January, “overall” 43 percent of voters support amnesty (down 14 points), 57 percent of Democrats support amnesty (down 15 points), and 25 percent of Republicans support amnesty (down 10 points). Downplaying this decreased appetite for amnesty, Politico claims that giving illegal aliens “a shot at citizenship has been popular for years, and this one poll probably isn’t indicative of a long-term trend.”

Yet a closer analysis of the poll reveals that even these lower favorables overstate American voters’ support for amnesty. First, the poll is overrepresented by Democrats by an astounding plus-nine margin compared to Republicans. The Politico Playbook write-up omits this fact and only those who scroll down to p. 14 of the toplines will see that the poll’s respondents are 41 percent Democrats, 32 percent Republicans, and 27 percent independents. The Democrats may currently enjoy complete control of the federal government, but we are not a plus-nine Democrat nation so this poll is inherently biased in support of liberal positions.

Beyond the unbalanced political makeup of responses, the questions posed are similarly flawed to engender higher support. In the context of the broader amnesty, the pollsters asked “Which of the following do you think is the best way to handle immigrants [sic] currently living in the United States undocumented [sic]?” This question is loaded with inaccurate terms to obscure the facts and generate sympathies. The potential amnestied population is neither "undocumented" nor "immigrants", they are illegal aliens who are very much documented with many things except legal permission to be in the United States. And “immigrants” are lawful permanent residents who are documented with their green cards. In response to this loaded question, 43 percent of over-represented Democrat respondents agreed with “They should be allowed to stay and become citizens if they meet certain requirements.” Similarly, 19 percent agreed with, “They should be allowed to stay and become legal residents, but NOT citizens if they meet certain requirements.” This question fails to detail what these “certain requirements” are, conveniently leaving it up to the imagination of the respondent rather than articulating the specific requirements of an actual bill, like the Biden-Menendez amnesty bill. Despite the stacked deck, 27 percent agreed with, “They should be removed or deported from the United States,” while 11 percent either do not know or have not formed an opinion on amnesty for illegal aliens.

While Politico did not describe the March poll numbers on a “Dreamer” amnesty compared to its January poll, the questions and responses are similarly flawed. Mirroring the two “they should be allowed to stay, if” responses from the broader amnesty, respondents are again left with the intentionally vague “if they meet certain requirements”. Surely the pollsters are aware that the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6, complete with a “Dreamer” amnesty, on March 18, the day before they began polling American voters. The poll’s definition of “Dreamers” is similarly inaccurate: “As you may know, ‘Dreamers’ are young people [sic] who were brought [sic] to the United States illegally when they were children, often with their parents. Which of the following do you think is the best way to handle Dreamers?” To be clear, most “Dreamers” are not young people, but instead adults mostly in their late 20s to late 30s. While eligibility for President Obama’s illegal executive amnesty known as DACA required the illegal alien to claim he/she entered the country before the age of 16 (child), the House just passed H.R. 6, which expanded “Dreamer” eligibility to those who entered before the age of 19 (adult). Additionally, no version of the Dream Act over the past 20 years, including H.R. 6, or Obama’s DACA has ever required that the illegal alien was brought to the country. While some illegal aliens were brought (i.e., smuggled) into the country by their parents or coyotes, many others intentionally came across the border of their own accord, such as a 15-year-old looking for work in America. The use of “brought” in polls like these and in the talking points of amnesty supporters is intentionally done to suggest that the unlawful entry was against the will of the illegal alien and, therefore, it is not their fault.