64% Still Put Border Security Ahead of Legalizing Illegals Already Here

Voters aren’t convinced the U.S. border with Mexico is secure, and they still put that goal far ahead of legalizing illegal immigrants already in the country. A majority of voters also continue to favor a welcoming immigration policy.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows that 64% believe gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers living in the United States. Thirty-one percent (31%) share the opposite view and believe legalizing those already here should be top priority. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
 

Voters have strongly supported  border control as a legislative priority for years. Last month, 63% placed higher importance on border security.  
 

But most voters (54%) also favor an immigration policy that welcomes all immigrants except for national security threats, criminals and those who come to the United States to live off the welfare system. Twenty-nine percent (29%) oppose this type of welcoming policy, while another 16% are undecided. These findings, too, have remained fairly consistent for several years.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on May 17-18, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.