A new survey released today by Latino Decisions, and commissioned by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) shows Latino registered voters in the state of Arizona are strongly opposed to new immigration law, 1070, which was signed into law on April 23. Overall, 81% of Latinos are opposed to 1070 and 16% in favor. When asked if they thought police would also stop legal immigrants or U.S. born Latinos, 85% of Latino voters said yes, and 72% said they thought police would primarily target people who are Hispanic when deciding who to question.
What’s more, the survey finds opposition and concerns remains strong across immigrant generation. Contrary to some claims that only Latino immigrants would be concerned over the new Arizona law, the data clearly show that second, third and fourth generation U.S. born Latinos firmly oppose the law. Among foreign-born voters, 90% oppose the law, while 82% oppose in the second generation (who have foreign-born parents), 79% oppose in the third generation (who have foreign-born grandparents), and 67% oppose into the fourth generation. When asked about concerns over profiling, the results are even more consistent across generation: 85% of immigrant voters are worried about racial profiling, and 89% are concerned in the second generation, 81% in the third generation, and 80% in the fourth generation. The data clearly show that Latinos as a group are very concerned about the new Arizona immigration law, and even those beyond an immediate connection to immigration have strong concerns.
Against the backdrop of 1070 in Arizona, the survey also found that immigration was now mentioned as the top issue among Latino registered voters in the state of Arizona. In March, a Latino Decisions survey found nationally, 16% of Latino voters cited immigration as the top issue, behind health care and the economy. In May 2010, 59% of Latino voters in Arizona said immigration was a top concern, now well ahead of the economy, health care, and education. As the fallout over 1070 continues, and spreads to other states, it is likely that Latino voters nationally are now mentioning immigration reform as the top issue heading into the November elections.
About the Poll
The Arizona Poll was a survey of registered voters who are self-identified as Latino or Hispanic and resident in the state. The poll was commissioned by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and conducted in conjunction with political scientists Rudy Espino at Arizona State University, Stephen Nuno at Northern Arizona University, and Sylvia Manzano at Texas A&M University. The sample size of 402 carries a margin-of-error of ±4.9% and was conducted between April 30 and May 5, 2010, and was approximately 17 minutes in length. The sample was drawn randomly from the most recent publicly available list of registered voters in the State of Arizona, screened for Hispanic surnames using the Census Bureau list, and merged with third party data to secure telephone numbers. Voter registration status and Hispanic identification were verified upon contact with respondents, who confirm if they are registered to vote in Arizona and of Hispanic/Latino descent.
Surveying is conducted by fully bilingual interviewers, in English and Spanish at the discretion of the respondent. Respondents are greeted in both languages. The survey instrument is created by Barreto and Segura, in consultation with other political scientists, and translated into Spanish. The survey is administered under the direction of Pacific Market Research, in Renton, WA, and performed using a Computer-Assisted-Telephone-Interviewing (CATI) protocols. CATI programming is performed by Pacific Market Research.
For more information, email Barreto or Segura or call 425-336-7000.
