Like Atrios, I surprised by the margin of this poll number:
A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken last weekend found that 78% of respondents feel people now in the country illegally should be given a chance at citizenship.
Given election results in a few border districts last November, I’m not necessarily surprised that a majority of Americans support a path toward citizenship, but I am surprised at the 78% number. That’s strong support.
If you’ve only been listening to right-wing radio types the past few years, you would be lead to believe that there’s a mass political movement afoot to build a 3,000 mile wall and ramp up deportation. Well, if GOP candidates want to run on American nationalism in 2008, more power to them. I think there’s a political reason Karl Rove never went down that path.
I’m not good at reading the public mind, but I suspect this poll question reflects the American realization that:
(1) We have a lot of illegal immigrants,
(2) They’re needed to do jobs most Americans don’t like,
(3) We aren’t going to deport them, so
(4) We might as well work them into the system rather than force them to live as second-class humans.
At least that’s my thinking. It’s about time we get past this “amnesty” red herring and move forward with a realistic immigration policy.