{"id":16204,"date":"2013-05-22T00:01:15","date_gmt":"2013-05-22T05:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/majority-of-americans-say-immigration-policy-needs-sweeping-changes\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:36:07","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:36:07","slug":"majority-of-americans-say-immigration-policy-needs-sweeping-changes","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2013\/05\/22\/majority-of-americans-say-immigration-policy-needs-sweeping-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Majority of Americans say immigration policy needs sweeping changes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans strongly believe that the nation\u2019s immigration system is due for an overhaul, but that widely-held view is not matched by consensus on how to deal with illegal and legal immigration. Three-quarters\u00a0 (75%) say they think the system needs at least \u201cmajor changes,\u201d including 35% who say it needs \u201cto be completely rebuilt,\u201d according to a Pew Research survey in May.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2013\/05\/DN_Immigration.jpg\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ece4cc\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ece4cc;\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(max-width: 257px) 100vw, 257px\" class=\"wp-image-28306 not-transparent\" alt=\"DN_Immigration\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2013\/05\/DN_Immigration.jpg\" ><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An immigration reform bill that would mark the biggest changes to the nation\u2019s immigration system in decades\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/senate-panel-approves-deal-on-foreign-workers\/2013\/05\/21\/4ac8cfe4-c228-11e2-914f-a7aba60512a7_story.html?hpid=z2\">passed a key hurdle on Tuesday<\/a> when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send the measure to the full chamber. \u00a0The bill would create a path to citizenship for the nation\u2019s estimated <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2013\/04\/17\/unauthorized-immigrants-how-pew-research-counts-them-and-what-we-know-about-them\/\">11.1 million undocumented immigrants<\/a> and expand the number of high-tech visas available to foreigners. It also includes measures to improve border security.\u00a0The Senate is expected to vote on the bill in June.<!--more--><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it comes to legal immigration, relatively few (31%) among the public say the current level should be kept as it is, but there is no consensus as to whether the level of legal immigration should be decreased (36%) or increased (25%).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Improving border security also remains a priority, especially among Republicans. Half (53%) of Americans say there is a lot more that the government can be doing to reduce illegal immigration at U.S. borders. Among conservative Republicans, 68% percent say the government can do more at the border compared with just 37% of liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s worth noting that, while a majority of Americans agree the system needs a change, a survey in January this year found that immigration reform is not among the public\u2019s top priorities. When asked what issues should be a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2013\/01\/24\/deficit-reduction-rises-on-publics-agenda-for-obamas-second-term\/\">\u201ctop priority\u201d for the president and Congress<\/a>, immigration reform ranked 17<sup>th<\/sup>, near the bottom of the list. The top three priorities were strengthening the economy, improving the job situation and reducing the federal budget deficit. A <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2013\/02\/21\/if-no-deal-is-struck-four-in-ten-say-let-the-sequester-happen\/#far-fewer0\">February survey<\/a> found that 51% of Americans believed it was essential to act this year on immigration legislation, again a far lower number than those who said acting on the deficit was essential. <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2013\/05\/16\/immigration-tip-sheet-on-u-s-public-opinion\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three-in-four Americans say they think the immigration system needs \u201cmajor changes\u201d or \u201cto be completely rebuilt.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":null,"sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[],"bylines":[748],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-16204","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","hentry","bylines-sara-kehaulani-goo","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states"],"label":"Short 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