Field Poll: Overwhelming Support in California for Path to Legalization for Undocumented Residents

A new Field Poll found that there is now nearly universal support among California voters to allow undocumented immigrantswho have lived here for a number of years to stay and become citizens if they have a job, learnEnglish, and pay back taxes. Statewide, 90% of voters now favor this policy.

In addition, in a reversal from previous measures, a 52% to 43% majority favors allowingundocumented residents to obtain California drivers’ licenses. In two previous Field Polls datingback to 2005, majorities opposed this idea.

Greater than seven in ten also support significantly increasing the number of visas granted toimmigrants who are engineers or hold other advanced degrees, creating temporary worker programsfor current and future undocumented workers, and allowing undocumented students to pay the samein-state tuition fees at the state’s public universities as other residents.

At the same time, voters are disinclined to relax some of the policies in place aimed at restrictingthe flow of undocumented immigrants into this country. There continues to be strong majoritysupport for increasing the number of federal border agents patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, aswell as for imposing stiff penalties on employers and individuals who hire undocumented immigrants.

KJ