ATLANTA — A coalition of Georgia business and labor organizations called Wednesday for immediate federal immigration reform, citing a new poll they say shows a majority of the voters surveyed agree.
However, the same survey also showed that just 5 percent of those questioned listed immigration reform as the most important issue facing the country.
The call for reform came from representatives of the Technology Association of Georgia, the Georgia Restaurant Association, the Georgia Poultry Federation and the unions ALF-CIO and Workers United.
The coalition supports granting more visas to high-skilled and low-skilled immigrants, tougher border security and a way for undocumented aliens to become U.S. citizens.
But pollster Matt Towery, the president of InsiderAdvantage, cautions not to put too much stock into the responses.
“This type of broad language is sort of like a net designed to catch all fish. The problem is that voters don’t make such mental gymnastics in determining how they feel about an issue,” he said. “I think a more straightforward question might yield less favorable results, although I will say that in past surveys Georgians have been a bit more open to immigration reform than many might suspect.”
Phil Kent, a member of the Georgia Immigration Enforcement Review Board, dismissed the poll results completely.
“This is one of the most convoluted polling questions I’ve seen in a while,” he said. “…They’re trying to shoehorn support for amnesty by clever wording of this question.”Meanwhile, the candidates for the U.S. Senate didn’t let the poll change their position. Republicans David Perdue and Jack Kingston say the flow of undocumented immigrants must be stopped before there is any consideration of relaxing the rules.
“Enforce the law. Secure the border. No amnesty,” Perdue spokesman Derrick Dickey said.
via Georgia business-labor coalition calls for immigration reform, cites survey | The Augusta Chronicle.
Comments ( 0 )