Immigration  (p. 5)

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R). April 21-24, 2006. N=1,005 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.1.

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"In the community where you live, would you say that immigration has had a positive effect, a negative effect, or no real effect at all on [see below]?"

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   4/21-24/06

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   4/21-24/06

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   4/21-24/06

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   4/21-24/06

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"If you had to make a choice, would you favor deporting immigrants in America who are not legal citizens and do not have work permits, or would you favor allowing these immigrants to stay in America as long as they pass a security check, meet certain conditions, and pay taxes?"

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"I'm going to describe a portion of a possible new immigration law, which also would include tighter border security. This law would deal with immigrants who are here illegally in three ways, depending on how long they have been in the United States. Those who have been here for more than five years would be allowed to continue to work here for six years, and then would be allowed to apply for permanent citizenship. Those who have been here for two to five years would be required to go to a legal border entry point and register sometime in the next three years, and would then be able to return to work. Those who have been here for less than two years would be required to return to their home country and apply for entry into the United States through the normal legal channels.
   
"Thinking about the portion of a possible immigration law I just described, would you favor or oppose this?"

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"If thousands of immigrants in the U.S. do not show up for work on May 1st in protest of immigration policy, do you think this will do more to help their cause, do more to hurt their cause, or have no real effect either way?"

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"Would you favor or oppose building a wall or a fence all along the border between Mexico and the United States, from Texas to California?"

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USA Today/Gallup Poll. April 7-9, 2006. N=1,004 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Do you think that illegal immigration to the United States is out of control, or not?"

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"How effective do you think each of the following would be as a way to reduce illegal immigration to the United States: very effective, somewhat effective, not too effective, or not at all effective? How about . . . ?"

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"Instituting tough penalties for businesses that employ illegal immigrants"

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"Significantly increasing the number of officers patrolling U.S. borders"

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"Not allowing illegal immigrants to use American schools and hospitals"

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"Taking action to raise the standard of living in countries where large numbers of immigrants come from"

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"Building a wall along the border with Mexico"

CBS News Poll. April 6-9, 2006. N=899 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Would you favor or oppose allowing immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally to apply for work permits which would allow them to stay and work in the United States?" N=472 (Form E)

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"Would you favor or oppose allowing illegal immigrants who have done the following to stay and work in the United States: paid a fine, been in the U.S. for at least five years, paid any back taxes they owe, can speak English, and have no criminal record?" N=427 (Form F)

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"Would you favor or oppose building a 700-mile-long security fence along the U.S.-Mexico border to try to stop illegal immigration?"

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"Do you think it should or should not be a criminal offense if a U.S. citizen provides food, shelter, or medical care to an illegal immigrant?"

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FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. April 4-5, 2006. N=900 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"How serious a problem do you believe the illegal immigration situation is in your community . . . ?"

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"In dealing with the issue of illegal immigrants, do you think the United States should be more focused on securing the borders and preventing illegal immigrants from entering the country, or on dealing with the millions of illegal immigrants who are already in the country?"

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"I'm going to read a list of possible concerns some people have expressed over illegal immigration. For each one, please tell me if you are very concerned, somewhat concerned, not very concerned or not at all concerned about it. . . ."

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"Overburden government programs and services"

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"Lead to an increase in crime"

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"Lead to an increase in terrorism"

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"Take jobs away from U.S. citizens"

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"Change the culture of the country"

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"Overall, do you think illegal immigrants provide more benefits to the nation by doing work many U.S. citizens don't want to do, or do they cost the country more because they don't pay taxes and use public services like schools and emergency rooms?"

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"Some people say that illegal immigrants are mainly doing low-paying jobs that U.S. citizens don't want. Other people say that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from U.S. citizens. Which is closer to how you feel?"

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"There have been several proposals regarding how to deal with the issue of illegal immigration. Please tell me if you favor or oppose each of the following. . . ."

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"Imposing fines and criminal charges against employers who hire illegal immigrants"

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"Using the U.S. military to stop illegal immigrants at the borders"

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"Building a wall or security fence along the U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal immigration"

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"Building a wall or security fence along the U.S.-Canada border to stop illegal immigration"

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"Do you think it should be a requirement of those applying to become U.S. citizens that they speak English?"

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"Do you think most illegal immigrants have a greater allegiance to their home countries or to the United States?"

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"Do you think most illegal immigrants really want to become citizens or do you think they just want to make money in the United States and go home?"

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"Do you think it is fair or unfair to grant rights to illegal immigrants while thousands of people wait each year to come to the United States legally?"

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"Based on what you know, how common is it for people in your community to hire illegal immigrants to perform jobs such as childcare, house cleaning or lawn work? Is it very common, somewhat common, not very common or not at all common?"

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"Under current law, any child born in the United States is a citizen of the United States. If an illegal immigrant has a baby while living in the United States, do you think the child should automatically become a U.S. citizen or not?"

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"Which party do you think would do a better job handling the issue of immigration: Democrats or Republicans?"

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"Do you approve or disapprove of the job President Bush is doing in handling the illegal immigration problem?"

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"Turning to problems with illegal immigrants entering the United States -- How serious a problem is illegal immigration into the United States: extremely serious, very serious, somewhat serious, or not very serious?"

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"Do you think the U.S. is doing enough along its borders to keep illegal immigrants from crossing into this country, doing too much, or not doing enough to keep illegal immigrants from crossing over into the U.S.?"

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"Do you think that people who are here illegally are taking jobs from United States citizens, or are they mostly taking jobs that U.S. citizens do not want or cannot do?"

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"Do you think that illegals should be allowed to obtain driver's licenses, or not?"

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"Do you think that illegals should be allowed to attend public schools, or not?"

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"Should illegals be allowed to obtain government services, such as health care or food stamps?"

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"Two different approaches have been suggested to deal with illegal immigrants. Please tell me which comes closest to your views. (1) Make illegal immigration a crime and not allow anyone who entered the country illegally to work or stay in the United States under any circumstances. OR, (2) Allow illegal immigrants to get temporary work visas so the government can track them and allow them to earn permanent residence after six years if they learn English, pay a fine, pay any back taxes, and have no criminal record." Options rotated

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"Would you be more likely to vote for a candidate who wanted to make illegal immigration a crime, less likely, or wouldn't it make much difference to you?"

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"Here are some policies that have been suggested to deal with illegal immigrants. For each one, please tell me whether you would favor or oppose it. . . ."

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"Allowing illegal immigrants already working in the United States to register as guest workers for a fixed period of time, so the government could keep track of them"

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"Allowing illegal immigrants now in this country to earn U.S. citizenship if they learn to speak English, have a job and pay taxes"

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"Granting temporary visas to immigrants not currently in the United States so that they can do seasonal or temporary work here and then return to their own countries"

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"Providing major penalties for employers convicted of hiring illegal immigrants and strongly enforcing it"

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"Stopping illegal immigrants from entering the United States by taking whatever steps are necessary to guard the border with Mexico, including using U.S. military forces"

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"Building a security fence along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border to stop the flow of illegals across that border"

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"Deporting all illegal immigrants back to their home countries"

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"If there is a guest worker program, should the illegal immigrants now in the United States be eligible to register for the program while in the United States without having to return to their own countries to apply, or should they have to go back to their own countries to apply?"

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"How concerned are you about each of the following issues concerning illegal immigrants: very concerned, somewhat concerned, not very concerned, or not concerned at all? . . ."

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"It costs taxpayers too much money to provide them with services such as health care and education"

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"American workers can't afford to work for the same low wages as the illegal immigrants"

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"They increase the likelihood of terrorism in the United States"

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"They increase the amount of crime"

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"They take jobs away from Americans"

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"There are already too many people in the United States"

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"Illegal immigrants weaken our way of life in this country"

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"What if the United States deported all illegal immigrants and toughened security to stop them from entering this country? Do you think the United States would be better off or worse off?"

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3/29-30/06

1/24-26/06

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"Immigrants and immigration rights advocates have been holding demonstrations in the past few days in several cities to protest bills in Congress that would make illegal immigration a crime. Have you seen or heard anything about these demonstrations?"

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"Do these kinds of demonstrations make you more likely to favor laws allowing illegal immigrants into this country, more likely to favor laws that make it a crime for an illegal immigrant to enter or work here, or don't they have much effect on you?"

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Associated Press-Ipsos poll conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs. March 28-30, 2006. N=1,003 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.1.

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"Would you favor or oppose allowing immigrants with jobs who are in the United States illegally to apply for legal, temporary worker status?"

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3/28-30/06

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"On balance, do you think illegal immigrants mostly make a contribution to American society, or are they mostly a drain on American society?"

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3/28-30/06

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"Which comes closest to your view? Illegal immigrants take jobs that Americans don't want. Illegal immigrants take away jobs that are wanted by Americans."

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3/28-30/06

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"Do you think it should be a serious criminal offense to enter and remain in the United States without proper documentation or should it be considered a minor offense?"

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3/28-30/06

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R). March 10-13, 2006. N=approx. 500 adults nationwide.

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"In addition to improving security at our borders, Congress is considering a proposal that would impose a monetary fine on foreigners who are currently in the United States illegally and then grant them legal, temporary-worker status. Which of the following statements do you agree with more?
  
"Statement A: We SHOULD grant temporary-worker status to foreigners who are here illegally. Most of them will stay in the United States anyway, and this plan would allow the government to keep track of them and their activities and require them to pay taxes while they are here.
  
"Statement B: We should NOT grant temporary-worker status to foreigners who are here illegally, as this would make them and their families eligible for government services while they are here. We should not reward people who have broken the law, and this will encourage even more people to enter the United States illegally."

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Quinnipiac University poll. Feb. 21-28, 2006. N=1,892 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 2.3.

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"As you may know, immigrants to the United States can be here legally -- that is, they have been legally admitted to the country and are allowed to live and work here; or they can be here illegally. Such immigrants are sometimes called 'undocumented' because they do not have papers allowing them to live and work here. Should legal immigration into the United States be kept at its present level, increased, or decreased?"

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"Do you support or oppose making it easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens?"

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"Do you support or oppose making it easier for illegal immigrants to become legal workers?"

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"Do you support or oppose allowing illegal immigrants to get drivers' licenses?"

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"Do you support or oppose requiring proof of legal residency in order to obtain government benefits?"

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"Do you support or oppose eliminating the automatic American citizenship for illegal immigrants' children who are born in the United States?"

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"Do you think that illegal immigrants who are day laborers should be allowed to gather in public places, waiting to be picked up by employers?"

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"Do you think communities should set up officially sanctioned day labor pick-up sites where workers, whether illegal immigrants or not, could gather and wait for work?"

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Pew Research Center survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Jan. 4-8, 2006. N=1,503 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Would you favor or oppose a policy allowing immigrants to enter the U.S. legally and work here for a limited period of time, but then they would have to go home?"

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CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. Dec. 9-11, 2005. Nationwide.

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"Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling immigration?" N=503, MoE ± 5 (Form A)

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12/9-11/05

11/11-13/05

1/7-9/05

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"Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling controlling illegal immigration?" N=500, MoE ± 5 (Form B)

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12/9-11/05

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"How important is it to you that the president and Congress deal with each of the following issues in the next year? Is it extremely important, very important, moderately important, or not that important? How about [see below]?"

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Immigration N=503, MoE ± 5 (Form A)

  12/9-11/05

  12/17-19/04

  1/11-14/02

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Controlling illegal immigration N=500, MoE ± 5 (Form B)

  12/9-11/05

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"What should be the main focus of the U.S. government in dealing with the issue of illegal immigration? Developing a plan that would allow illegal immigrants who have jobs to become legal U.S. residents. OR, Developing a plan for stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. and for deporting those already here." Options rotated. N=500, MoE ± 5 (Form B).

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12/9-11/05

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"Do you think legal immigrants mostly help the economy by providing low cost labor, or mostly hurt the economy by driving wages down for many Americans?" Options rotated. N=503, MoE ± 5 (Form A).

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12/9-11/05

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"Do you think illegal immigrants mostly help the economy by providing low cost labor, or mostly hurt the economy by driving wages down for many Americans?" Options rotated. N=500, MoE ± 5 (Form B).

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12/9-11/05

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"Overall, do you think illegal immigrants hurt or help the U.S. economy?" Options rotated

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"Would you favor or oppose a program that would allow illegal immigrants who have jobs in the United States to live and work legally in the United States for a fixed period of time if they registered with the government as temporary guest workers so the U.S. government could keep track of them?"

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"Do you think the federal government is doing enough to secure the country's borders?"

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Yes

No

Unsure

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"Do you favor or oppose a proposal to build a 2,000-mile-long security fence along the U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal immigration?"

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Favor

Oppose

Unsure

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"Which of the following do you think would be more effective at preventing illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border: a 2,000-mile-long security fence, or thousands of additional border patrol agents?" Options rotated

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Fence

Agents

Same (vol.)

Neither (vol.)

Unsure

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CBS News Poll. Oct. 3-5, 2005. N=808 adults nationwide. MoE ± 4.

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"Do you think the immigrants coming to this country today take jobs away from American citizens, or do they mostly take jobs Americans don't want?"

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