Effects of Sept. 11 on Immigration Attitudes Fading, but Still Evident

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Similar to what has occurred in regard to many attitudes, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks greatly affected Americans' views on immigration, but over time that impact has started to fade. Gallup's latest update shows the public is somewhat more positive about immigration today than it was immediately following Sept. 11, but Americans are still more negative than they were prior to the terrorist attacks. The Sept. 11 attacks seem to have only affected Americans' attitudes toward present immigration, as their views on past immigration and its impact on the United States are essentially unchanged from June 2001. A majority of the public says there are "too many" immigrants from Arab countries, although the percentage saying this is actually lower than that found in 1993, when Americans were generally more negative toward immigration than they are now.

The poll, conducted June 3-9, finds that 49% of Americans believe immigration levels should be decreased, 36% believe they should be kept at their present levels, and 12% think they should be increased. This represents a slightly more positive assessment of immigration than the results of an October 2001 poll, which showed a majority (58%) in favor of decreased immigration levels, with only 8% preferring increases and 30% in favor of keeping the status quo. Prior to the terrorist attacks, a June 2001 poll showed about equal proportions of Americans favored keeping immigration levels at their present levels (42%) or decreasing them (41%). Opposition to immigration, though high, is still not where it was in the mid-1990s.

Just a bare majority of the public, 52%, believes immigration, on the whole, is a good thing for the country today, while 42% believe it is bad. In June 2001, Americans were much more positive, with 62% saying immigration was a good thing and 31% saying it was bad. The change in views has occurred across key demographic groups such as men, women, whites, blacks and Hispanics.

Immigration: Good Thing or Bad Thing
for This Country?

Despite a more negative view of current immigration, the public's opinion on past immigration is unchanged. Three-quarters say that immigration has been a good thing for the United States in the past, the same percentage as in June 2001. Additionally, the events of the past year have little affected Americans' views of the effect immigration has had on such things as the overall quality of life, the economy and jobs, the quality of public schools, crime and taxes.

PERCEIVED IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON UNITED STATES SOCIETY, 2001-2002

	2002			2001
	Made Better	Made Worse	No effect	Made Better	Made Worse	No effect
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Food, music, and the arts	54	10	31	58	8	29
The economy in general	32	36	28	32	32	31
The overall quality of life	29	28	38	30	24	41
Social and moral values	25	30	39	25	26	45
Politics and government	21	34	40	23	24	47
The quality of public schools	19	42	33	18	40	37
Job opportunities for you and family	14	37	46	15	31	50
Taxes	12	50	31	12	46	34
The crime situation	8	50	37	7	50	38

Majority of Americans Say There Are Too Many Arab Immigrants

Americans' willingness to accept immigrants from different parts of the world varies. The poll shows that, of the five immigrant groups tested, the public is least accepting of Arab immigrants, as 54% say there are too many entering the United States. Forty-six percent of Americans say there are too many immigrants from Latin American countries and 39% say this of immigrants from Asian countries. Americans are much more satisfied with the level of immigration from African and European countries.

OPINION ON NUMBER OF IMMIGRATION FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
Arab countries	54	5	33	8
Latin American countries	46	5	41	8
Asian countries	39	5	47	9
African countries	29	13	48	10
European countries	25	12	53	10

It should be pointed out that acceptance of immigrants from all countries is higher now than it was in 1993, when support for immigration overall was much lower than today. Even following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, fewer Americans today (54%) say there are too many immigrants from Arab countries than did so in 1993 (64%). And in 1993, a majority of the public said there were too many immigrants from Latin American (62%) and Asian countries (62%), while less than a majority say that today.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,360 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted June 3-9, 2002, including oversamples of 236 blacks and 263 Hispanics that are weighted to reflect their proportions in the population. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. For results based on the samples of blacks and Hispanics, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling error is ±7 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

In your view, should immigration be kept at its present level, increased or decreased?

	Present level	Increased	Decreased	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	36	12	49	3
2001 Jun 11-17	42	14	41	3

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	37	11	50	2
2001 Jun 11-17	41	15	41	3

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	35	12	49	4
2001 Jun 11-17	43	12	42	3

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	36	9	52	3
2001 Jun 11-17	42	10	45	3

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	34	16	46	4
2001 Jun 11-17	42	24	31	3

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	37	24	37	2
2001 Jun 11-17	38	33	25	4

NATIONAL ADULT TREND

	Present level	Increased	Decreased	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2002 Jun 3-9	36	12	49	3
2001 Oct 19-21	30	8	58	4
2001 Jun 11-17	42	14	41	3
2001 Mar 26-28	41	10	43	6
2000 Sep 11-13	41	13	38	8
1999 Feb 26-28 ^	41	10	44	5
1995 Jul 7-9	27	7	62	4
1995 Jun 5-6	24	7	65	4
1993 Jul 9-11	27	6	65	2
1986 Jun 19-23 †	35	7	49	9
1977 Mar 25-28	37	7	42	14
1965 Jun 24-29	39	7	33	20

^ Based on 514 national adults; margin of error ± 5 PCT. PTS.
† CBS/NYT

On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?

	Good thing	Bad thing	Mixed (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	52	42	4	2
2001 Jun 11-17	62	31	5	2

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	56	39	4	1
2001 Jun 11-17	68	28	2	2

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	49	45	4	2
2001 Jun 11-17	57	33	7	3

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	51	43	4	2
2001 Jun 11-17	62	32	4	2

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	46	46	6	2
2001 Jun 11-17	61	28	7	4

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	67	27	4	2
2001 Jun 11-17	73	18	2	7

On the whole, do you think immigration has been a good thing or a bad thing for the United States in the past?

	Good thing	Bad thing	Mixed (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	75	20	4	1
2001 Jun 11-17	75	19	4	2

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	77	18	4	1
2001 Jun 11-17	81	15	3	1

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	73	22	4	1
2001 Jun 11-17	69	23	5	3

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	77	18	4	1
2001 Jun 11-17	75	19	4	2

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	59	34	6	1
2001 Jun 11-17	63	27	7	3

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	80	15	4	1
2001 Jun 11-17	75	17	2	6

For each of the following areas, please say whether immigrants to the United States are making the situation in the country better or worse, or not having much effect. How about -- [ITEM A, THEN ITEMS B-I ROTATED]?

A. The overall quality of life

	Better	Worse	Not much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	29	28	38	5
2001 Jun 11-17	30	24	41	5

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	30	26	40	4
2001 Jun 11-17	35	19	41	5

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	28	29	37	6
2001 Jun 11-17	26	28	41	5

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	26	28	41	5
2001 Jun 11-17	28	27	41	4

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	25	35	34	6
2001 Jun 11-17	27	25	44	4

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	46	18	29	7
2001 Jun 11-17	58	10	27	5

B. The quality of public schools

	Better	Worse	Not much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	19	42	33	6
2001 Jun 11-17	18	40	37	5

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	21	42	32	5
2001 Jun 11-17	19	38	38	5

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	17	42	34	7
2001 Jun 11-17	17	42	35	6

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	16	44	34	6
2001 Jun 11-17	16	43	36	5

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	20	33	42	5
2001 Jun 11-17	20	36	40	4

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	39	27	28	6
2001 Jun 11-17	48	22	24	6

C. The crime situation

	Better	Worse	Not much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	8	50	37	5
2001 Jun 11-17	7	50	38	5

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	11	49	37	3
2001 Jun 11-17	8	48	39	5

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	5	51	38	6
2001 Jun 11-17	6	52	37	5

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	6	52	37	5
2001 Jun 11-17	5	54	37	4

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	9	49	37	5
2001 Jun 11-17	9	44	41	6

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	18	41	34	7
2001 Jun 11-17	12	47	33	8

D. Job opportunities for you and your family

	Better	Worse	Not much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	14	37	46	3
2001 Jun 11-17	15	31	50	4

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	16	36	46	2
2001 Jun 11-17	17	29	49	5

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	13	38	46	3
2001 Jun 11-17	13	34	51	2

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	10	37	50	3
2001 Jun 11-17	12	32	53	3

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	14	48	36	2
2001 Jun 11-17	20	38	41	1

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	39	25	33	3
2001 Jun 11-17	42	18	37	3

E. Food, music, and the arts

	Better	Worse	Not much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	54	10	31	5
2001 Jun 11-17	58	8	29	5

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	56	10	31	3
2001 Jun 11-17	63	6	25	6

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	53	9	32	6
2001 Jun 11-17	55	9	32	4

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	53	10	32	5
2001 Jun 11-17	59	8	28	5

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	47	11	37	5
2001 Jun 11-17	54	10	33	3

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	69	5	21	5
2001 Jun 11-17	72	3	23	2

F. The economy in general

	Better	Worse	Not much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	32	36	28	4
2001 Jun 11-17	32	32	31	5

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	40	32	26	2
2001 Jun 11-17	38	26	32	4

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	25	40	30	5
2001 Jun 11-17	26	38	30	6

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	29	37	30	4
2001 Jun 11-17	29	34	32	5

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	25	47	24	4
2001 Jun 11-17	27	39	31	3

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	53	22	23	2
2001 Jun 11-17	42	23	29	6

G. Taxes

	Better	Worse	Not much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	12	50	31	7
2001 Jun 11-17	12	46	34	8

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	15	50	30	5
2001 Jun 11-17	16	41	35	8

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	10	50	32	8
2001 Jun 11-17	9	51	32	8

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	9	52	32	7
2001 Jun 11-17	10	48	34	8

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	14	54	25	7
2001 Jun 11-17	12	50	32	6

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	29	31	33	7
2001 Jun 11-17	40	26	25	9

H. Politics and government

	Better	Worse	Not much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	21	34	40	5
2001 Jun 11-17	23	24	47	6

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	23	34	40	3
2001 Jun 11-17	24	22	48	6

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	19	34	40	7
2001 Jun 11-17	21	26	47	6

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	18	36	41	5
2001 Jun 11-17	20	26	48	6

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	21	34	40	5
2001 Jun 11-17	23	27	43	7

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	36	18	36	10
2001 Jun 11-17	42	16	32	10

I. Social and moral values

	Better	Worse	Not much effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	25	30	39	6
2001 Jun 11-17	25	26	45	4

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	28	29	39	4
2001 Jun 11-17	26	24	47	3

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	22	31	40	7
2001 Jun 11-17	23	27	44	6

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	22	32	41	5
2001 Jun 11-17	22	29	45	4

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	27	31	34	8
2001 Jun 11-17	26	20	50	4

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	39	17	37	7
2001 Jun 11-17	45	17	34	4

Do you think the number of immigrants now entering the U.S. from each of the following areas is too many, too few, or about the right amount -- how about immigrants from -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

A. European countries

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	25	12	53	10

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	24	12	56	8

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	26	12	51	11

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	25	9	57	9

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	31	17	43	9

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	26	20	44	10

NATIONAL ADULT TREND

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion

2002 Jun 3-9	25%	12	53	10
1993 Jul 9-11	33%	10	52	5
1992 Feb 6-9	36%	7	52	5
1984 Jun 1-3	26%	11	50	13

B. Latin American countries

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	46	5	41	8

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	47	6	41	6

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	45	5	40	10

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	46	4	42	8

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	40	12	40	8

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	50	11	35	4

NATIONAL ADULT TREND

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion

2002 Jun 3-9	46%	5	41	8
1993 Jul 9-11	62%	5	29	4
1992 Feb 6-9	69%	5	22	4
1984 Jun 1-3	53%	5	30	12

C. African countries

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	29	13	48	10

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	31	14	48	7

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	27	13	49	11

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	31	9	51	9

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	28	26	40	6

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	18	24	44	14

NATIONAL ADULT TREND

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion

2002 Jun 3-9	29%	13	48	10
1993 Jul 9-11	44%	9	40	7
1992 Feb 6-9	47%	10	36	7
1984 Jun 1-3	31%	12	37	20

D. Asian countries

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	39	5	47	9

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	38	6	50	6

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	40	5	44	11

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	38	4	49	9

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	47	7	39	7

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	34	15	41	10

NATIONAL ADULT TREND

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion

2002 Jun 3-9	39%	5	47	9
1993 Jul 9-11	62%	4	29	5
1992 Feb 6-9	58%	4	32	6
1984 Jun 1-3	49%	6	33	12

E. Arab countries

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
National Adults
2002 Jun 3-9	54	5	33	8

Men
2002 Jun 3-9	54	6	34	6

Women
2002 Jun 3-9	55	4	31	10

Non-Hispanic Whites
2002 Jun 3-6	56	3	33	8

Blacks
2002 Jun 3-9	52	8	32	8

Hispanics
2002 Jun 3-9	46	16	28	10

NATIONAL ADULT TREND

	Too many	Too few	About right	No opinion

2002 Jun 3-9	54%	5	33	8
1993 Jul 9-11	64%	6	24	6

Effects of Sept. 11 on Immigration Attitudes Fading, but Still Evident

Views on level of immigration to U.S. somewhat more negative than prior to terror attacks

Related Topics Include:

The Five Conditions Assessment

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Immigration

Measuring Trends in Americans' Personal Values