Nevadans are as divided about the issue of immigration reform as members of Congress have proven to be during recent weeks of debate, according to a poll commissioned by the Review-Journal.
The telephone poll of 625 registered voters found that Nevadans are fairly divided between three immigration reform options: to tighten security along the U.S.-Mexico border and make it a felony to be illegally in the country; to allow illegal immigrants who have been in the country since before 2004 to stay and work legally under certain conditions; or to create a guest worker program for illegal immigrants that could eventually lead to permanent legal residency.
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"There seems to be a lot of mixed feelings on the issue," said Brad Coker, managing partner of Washington, D.C.'s Mason-Dixon Polling & Research firm that conducted the poll Monday through Wednesday. "Voters seem to be split into three different camps on the big picture question, and a good chunk didn't know if they fell into any of them."
When asked which of the three proposals they most supported, 35 percent of respondents said they favored tightening border security, making it a felony to be in the United States illegally and deporting illegal immigrants.
Twenty-eight percent said illegal immigrants who've been in the United States since before 2004 should be allowed to stay and work legally if they do not have a criminal record, pay a fine and back taxes and learn English.
And 22 percent thought the United States should create a guest worker program for 400,000 individuals each year, giving illegal immigrants the opportunity to obtain a three-year renewable visa and eventually apply for permanent legal residency without leaving the United States.
Fifteen percent of respondents said they weren't sure which option was best or had a different idea altogether.
The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
One of the more surprising results of the poll came when respondents were asked whether they felt that illegal immigrants have more of a positive or a negative effect on life in Nevada.
Nearly half -- or 43 percent -- of the Hispanic respondents polled said they felt illegal immigrants had more of a negative effect, just 2 percentage points less than the amount who felt the immigrants had a positive effect.
"That is extremely surprising," said Tony Muñoz, Clark County president of the National Latino Peace Officers Association, which often works with the undocumented community.
"I think they have a good impact on the economy. I've come across people who say illegal immigrants don't pay taxes, but I disagree. I know illegal immigrants who have taxes taken out of their paychecks."
Overall, 56 percent of respondents said illegal immigrants have more of a negative effect on Nevada life, while 24 percent said their effect was positive.
Coker said because only 10 percent of those polled were Hispanic, the margin of error among that group is higher: plus or minus 13 percentage points.
About 20 percent of Nevadans are Hispanic.
Polling only registered voters might also have had an effect, Coker said.
"That really waters down the Hispanic influence," he said. "A large number of Hispanics in Nevada aren't registered voters. That's not uncommon. The only places you see Hispanic voter registration close to that of the population as a whole are places where the Hispanic population is long entrenched, like south Florida and south Texas."
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beers, who is scheduled to speak Tuesday at a meeting for Secured Borders USA, an organization that promotes stricter immigration laws, said he wasn't surprised that nearly half of the Hispanic poll respondents thought illegal immigrants have a negative effect on life in Nevada.
A lot of immigrants who came to the United States legally might resent those who are here illegally, he said.
"From what I've seen of news coverage, we have a generation of immigrants that seem to not want to become Americans," Beers said, referring to recent pro-immigration rallies at which many protesters carried Mexican flags.
Malena Burnett, owner of Amigo Scribe Services, which helps immigrants apply for citizenship and with other legal issues, said some immigrants who have been in the United States a long time resent "fresh blood" because they are willing to work for less money and may take the jobs of immigrants who are already here.
"Because of their eagerness to work they'll take two jobs," she said. "Employers say 'Jose will do the work of two or three people.'"
More than half of the poll respondents also said they thought that children born in the United States to illegal immigrants should not automatically be granted citizenship, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"That's not something I have questions about," Beers said. "All my thoughts on government spring from that document (the Constitution)."
