WASHINGTON — Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders are more likely than the overall U.S. population to view legal immigration as a benefit to the country’s economy and workforce, according to a new poll.
However, when it comes to the risks posed by illegal immigration, their views are similar to those of Americans in general.
About 8 in 10 AAPI adults say legal immigration to the U.S. is a “major benefit” that contributes to economic growth, according to a survey published Monday by AAPI data And The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds. By comparison, overall, about 4 in 10 Americans felt the same way in an AP NORC poll carried out in March. Similarly, about three-quarters of AAPI voters say skilled science and technology skills are a major benefit of legal immigration, compared to about four in 10 Americans in March.
The election results come as former President Donald Trump, with less than a month until Election Day, continues to focus about the threat of immigration in his presidential campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris. The Republican recently falsely claimed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had no money for that help the survivors of Hurricane Helene because it was spent on programs for undocumented immigrants. During the presidential debate last month Trump amplified a false rumor that Haitians living legally in Springfield, Ohio were eating people’s pets. The debunked claims led to bomb threats to schools and government buildings, and drew on a long history in the US of vilifying immigrant communities through their food.
Aldrin Villahermosa II, 25, and a registered independent in Tacoma, Washington, was “angry and irritated” when he heard Trump was attacking Haitians in that way.
“Immigrants have always been targeted for the non-traditional foods they eat, and now that they are targeting domesticated animals, all these claims bring a whole new level of depravity,” Villahermosa said.
He also disagrees with the story that immigrants living illegally in the US contribute nothing, or that they take jobs away from Americans.
“One of my very good friends from college is an undocumented immigrant. He is currently a teacher at a public school, a job that does not pay well, but has an impact on future generations,” said Villahermosa. “He plays an important role in the American economy and does work that many people today shy away from because it pays little and is often unfulfilling.”
But many AAPI adults view illegal immigration very differently. Only about 4 in 10 AAPI adults say immigrants in the country without legal permission contribute to economic growth, similar to the share of the general adult population who say the same. Similarly, about a third of AAPI adults see immigrants in the country illegally as providing skilled worker expertise, which aligns with the views of Americans in general.
Just under half of AAPI adults say the federal government increasing security at the U.S.-Mexico border should be a “high priority.” About the same share say reducing wait times for applications for a green card or permanent legal status should be a top priority.
“What this indicates is that Asian Americans or AAPIs want to see solutions both at the border, but also on all legal migration routes,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data.
Many members of Asian American groups — especially Chinese, East Indians and Filipinos — have invested in the U.S. immigration system as they often struggle with years-long wait times to sponsor a family member or hire a worker with a special visa, he added to it.
Guann Su, 45, of Freeport, New York, came to the U.S. legally from Taiwan as a child and was naturalized in 1999. He wants other immigrants to do things by the book, just like his family did.
“I’m not saying that all illegal immigrants take a shortcut and cheat, but I’m just saying that we should follow the rules for everyone,” said Su, a Republican. “Because if we start making exceptions, that’s where the problems (will) start.”
He also believes that immigrants who are not legally in the country pose a major risk in overburdening welfare and safety net programs and increasing crime in major cities. About half of AAPI adults and Americans overall say this about such programs, and about four in 10 think there is a “high risk” that immigrants living in the country without legal permission will commit crimes, including al studies have indicated that immigrants are not more likely to commit crimes than people born in the US
However, when it comes to legal immigration, AAPI adults who identify with a political party are much more likely than Democrats and Republicans overall to see a major economic benefit. About 9 in 10 AAPI Democrats say contributions to economic growth are a “major” benefit of legal immigration, compared to about 6 in 10 Democrats overall. Similarly, about two-thirds of Republican AAPI adults think legal immigration is a major benefit to economic growth, compared to three-in-ten Republicans overall.
Sophia Cole, 38, of St. Louis, Missouri, is a Republican who plans to vote for Trump. She agrees that legal immigrants tend to work very hard.
“That’s exactly what I saw growing up: how hard the immigrant community works, how they helped build our foundational cities… from the East to the West Coast,” Cole says. “The work ethic, the drive to be American; they really capture the American dream more than the Americans themselves.”
Within the AAPI population, Harris has a slight lead over Trump when it comes to who should be trusted more to address immigration issues. But some of that may be due to the fact that only a little more than half of respondents identified as Democrats.
However, Su trusts that Trump will do a better job on immigration. He accused Harris and the Biden administration of not being “sincere” and not prioritizing the issue of illegal immigration until earlier this year.
Villahermosa, on the other hand, blames Congress for the lack of action. “I think it’s very much up to the will of Congress when it comes to spending, appropriation and allowing certain resources to be appropriated to address immigration as a whole,” Villahermosa said.
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Tang reported from Phoenix.
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The poll of 1,123 U.S. adults who are Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders was conducted September 3-9, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based Amplify AAPI Panel, designed to be representative of the Asian -American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population. Online and telephone interviews were offered in English, the Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese, Vietnamese and Korean. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.7 percentage points for all respondents.