The Rasmussen pollsters have published a new survey just in time for the big shindig at the White House welcoming Presidente Felipe Calderon and his amnesty roadshow.
The take-away message is this: more than two-thirds of those polled don’t believe Mexico is an honest player that respects America’s right to borders and sovereignty. This opinion sampling follows a series of polls from Rasmussen and other mainstream polling organizations showing universal support for Arizona’s increased immigration enforcement, even after a flood of lies that the new law would unleash random mass arrests.
One can assume from this result that Americans have had it with the bad faith of our neighbor; one indication being that only 13 percent think that Mexico wants to end illegal immigration.
And what’s going on with the President’s odd passivity about this issue? If he wants a mass amnesty to assure a future of big-government-loving hispanic Democrats, it is to his benefit to send troops to the border and shut it down tight to get the big enchilada amnesty later. But he acts like there’s nothing he can do. Arizona Senators McCain and Kyl recently sent a letter to Obama urging troops be deployed, following an April 19 press conference that also went unanswered by the White House.
Unless you include Obama’s bashing of Arizona along with Presidente Calderon with the same tired lies that effective immigration enforcement requires racial profiling: that’s his answer. Obama’s strategy is to rile up his far left base by blaming Arizona for taking responsibility for a duty of the federal government. He could fix it but he won’t. In fact, Obama wants the budget for border control cut.
67% Say Mexico Does Not Want To Stop Illegal Immigration, Rasmussen Reports, May 19, 2010
Most Americans don’t believe Mexico wants to stop the illegal flow of its citizens into this country and think America’s southern neighbor should be asked to compensate U.S. taxpayers for costs incurred by illegal immigration.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 13% of Adults think Mexico wants to stop illegal immigration. Sixty-seven percent (67%) say Mexico does not want to stop its citizens from entering the United States illegally. Another 20% are not sure.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon in his meeting today with President Obama complained that Arizona’s new immigration law encourages discrimination. But Arizona officials say the new law is needed in part because illegal immigration is causing big public safety and financial problems for the state.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Americans think Mexico should be asked to compensate U.S. taxpayers to offset such costs. Twenty-four percent (24%) disagree and say Mexico should not be asked for compensation. Seventeen percent (17%) are not sure.
As the United States wrestles with a future of historic-level deficits, 67% of voters nationwide say illegal immigrants are a significant strain on the U.S. budget.
Most voters (55%) now favor passage of an immigration law like Arizona’s in their own state. When asked specifically about the chief provision of the Arizona law, support is even higher. Sixty-nine percent (69%) believe a police officer should be required to check the immigration status of anyone stopped for a traffic violation or violation of some other law if he suspects the person might be an illegal immigrant. [...]
According to news reporters, the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C. is preparing friend-of-the court briefs to support lawsuits challenging Arizona’s new law. Only 12% of Americans believe it is appropriate for a foreign country to help challenge U.S. laws in U.S. courts. Seventy-two percent (72%) say it is not appropriate, and again 17% are undecided.
Twenty-seven percent (27%) view Mexico as an ally of the United States, while 14% describe it as an enemy. Fifty-three percent (53%) view Mexico as somewhere in between the two. These findings are consistent with a survey last August but are up from earlier last year when the Mexican government was seeking restrictions on U.S. gun sales it argued were linked to growing drug-related violence.
The majority of Republicans, Democrats and adults not affiliated with either party feel that the Mexican government does not want to stop illegal immigration and that Mexico should be asked to compensate U.S.taxpayers for costs associated with illegal immigration. But Republicans and unaffiliateds believe both things much more strongly than Democrats.
Members of the president’s party are also more inclined to view Mexico as an ally than are Republicans and unaffiliated adults.
Most voters continue to say as they have for years that gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers. But most also favor a welcoming immigration policy that excludes only “national security threats, criminals and those who would come here to live off our welfare system.”
The Obama administration announced in March that it was halting funding of the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, but 59% of Americans believe the United States should continue to build that fence.
