SURVEY: GOVERNMENTS RECEIVE LOW MARKS FROM PUBLIC FOR HANDLING OF IMMIGRATION

 
A new public opinion survey shows that as North American and European countries continue to recover from the global economic crisis, there is a nearly consensus view that governments are managing immigration poorly. For the first time, there is also evidence that respondents whose personal economic situation got worse in 2010 were more likely to fear immigrant competition in the labor market. According to the third-annual Transatlantic Trends: Immigration survey of public opinion in North America and Europe, majorities in the United States (73%), the U.K. (70%), Spain (61%), France (58%), and the Netherlands (54%) believed that their government was doing a poor job in managing immigration. Only Canadians were split, with 48% feeling positive and 43% responding negatively about their government’s handling of immigration. In the United States (67%) and U.K. (63%), respondents also said immigration policy would affect their vote.

Transatlantic Trends: Immigration is a public opinion survey that addresses multiple aspects of the immigration and integration debate, including the effect of the economic crisis on attitudes toward immigration, immigrants’ labor market impacts and effects on wages, and how governments are managing immigration, among others.  It measures public opinion on immigration issues in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.

For the first time, the survey showed evidence that personal economic hardship is correlated with more fears of labor-market competition. Those whose household economic situation got worse in 2010 were more likely to say that immigrants take jobs away from native-born workers. In the United States, for instance, 63% of those whose economic situation “got worse” in 2010 made this claim versus only 49% of those whose situation either “got better” or “stayed the same.” Europeans who self-identified as unemployed were also more likely to say that immigrants take jobs (43% versus the European average of 35%).

OTHER KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE:

OVERALL PERCEPTIONS OF IMMIGRANTS REMAIN STABLE Despite economic recession and various national debates about immigration, the proportions of respondents saying that immigration is either a problem or an opportunity have remained steady since 2009. The U.K. (65%), Spain (53%), and the United States (52%) are the only countries with majorities saying immigration is “more of a problem” than an opportunity. Canada had the lowest number (27%) agreeing with this statement.

MISCONCEPTIONS OF IMMIGRANT NUMBERS PERSIST Misperceptions about the numbers of immigrants in North America and Europe continue to prevail, with overestimates of the immigrant population increasing in both Canada and the United States. In 2010, on average, American respondents believed that 39% of the population was born abroad, up from 35% in 2009. The real figure is less than 14%. However, when presented with population figures, respondents’ feelings as to whether there were “too many” immigrants in their country dropped 20 percentage points in the United States, the U.K., and France.

IMMIGRANTS INCREASINGLY SEEN AS ECONOMIC DRAIN With countries in Europe and North America continuing to cut public spending, majorities or pluralities of participants said that immigrants benefit more from social security measures than they contribute in taxes. The United States and Spain had the highest proportion agreeing, with 67% in each country. Despite these concerns, majorities in Europe were still in favor of granting both legal and illegal immigrants access to general and emergency healthcare.

MIXED VIEWS ON IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION, MUSLIM INTEGRATION With the exception of Spain, most respondents in Europe had unfavorable views on the state of immigrant integration. In contrast, majorities in Canada (65%) and the United States (59%) thought that immigrants were integrating well into society. When asked how well Muslim immigrants were integrating into society, Germany, Spain, Canada, and the United States expressed more skepticism. Only 25% of Germans, for instance, thought that Muslim immigrants were integrating well, versus 41% who said that immigrants in general were well integrated.

SECOND-GENERATION INTEGRATION SEEN MORE POSITIVELY ACROSS THE BOARD When asked about the children of immigrants, more respondents in all countries said that they were integrating well. At least 50% of respondents, and up to 87% in Canada, said that the second-generation was integrating well. When asked specifically about the children of Muslim immigrants, only Spain and Germany had majorities saying that they were integrating poorly. France, which has recently passed legislation to ban face-covering veils, was split, with 50% saying that second-generation Muslims are integrating well. Despite attention paid to far-right politicians such as Geert Wilders, 56% of Dutch respondents also said that children of Muslim migrants were well-integrated into their society, a sentiment echoed by majorities in North America, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

AMERICANS DIVIDED ON WHO SHOULD ENFORCE IMMIGRATION LAWS With a heated national debate about immigration law enforcement following Arizona’s controversial SB1070 law as backdrop, 44% of Americans thought that state or local authorities should have primary responsibility for enforcing immigration policies, while 50% believed that the federal government should take the lead. These averages mask a strong partisan divide, however, as 66% of Democrats want federal responsibility for enforcement efforts while 50% of independents and 53% of Republicans would prefer that state and local authorities take the lead.

KJ