A recent survey found that the American people regardless of political affiliation are growing wary of immigration, legal or otherwise. The long held view of immigrants as a positive contributor to American society may no longer be the case.
The German Marshall Fund conducted a comprehensive survey to present to North American immigration officials on how people in this country viewed immigrants. The results were alarming in that many people, 54% no longer viewed immigrants as a positive but rather a societal problem. There was also a false perception that there were more foreign born people in the country than there really are. The study showed American think 35% of U.S. population was not born here when it is actually 14%.
There were distinctions along party lines but both the Democrats and Republicans saw immigration as a problem. In the last year, 15% more Republicans and 3% more Democrats see legal immigration in a negative light. The shifting perception is attributed mostly to the comprehensive immigration reform debate and misinformation.
