According to the 2009 Houston Area Survey:
The recent negative views of immigrants in general have begun to turn around.
The proportion of area residents who believe that the increasing immigration mostly “strengthens,” rather than “threatens,” American culture grew from 39% in 1997 to 57% in 2005, and then dropped to 44% in 2007, before recovering to 49% in 2009.
How does this attitude differ among immigrants of different countries?
Similarly, the percentage of area residents who favor “granting illegal immigrants in the U.S. a path to legal citizenship, if they speak English and have no criminal record” declined from 68% in 2007 to 56% in 2008, and then grew to 61% this year.
The number of survey respondents who said that the increasing ethnic diversity in Houston brought about by immigration is a “good thing” dropped from 67% in 2005 to 62% in 2007, and remained unchanged (at 61%) in 2009.
The attitudes toward illegal immigrants, however, appear to have hardened.
In the 2009 survey, 64% agreed that, “The children of illegal immigrants should have the right to attend the public schools,” down from 71% in 2007.
This year, 68% were in support of “imposing fines and criminal charges against employers in your community who hire illegal immigrants,” up from 56% two years ago.
In 2007, 44% were in favor of “a law that would deny health and welfare services to illegal immigrants in Texas.” In 2009, 50% said they supported that proposal.
How will the health care bill affect illegal immigrants? Among those that receive welfare what percentage are illegal immigrants?
