FOREIGN-BORN HISPANICS SUPPORT CANDIDATES WHO FAVOR LEGALIZATION/GUEST WORKER PROGRAM
LOS ANGELES, CA - Nearly seven in ten foreign-born Hispanics would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports a legalization/guest worker program, according to a new survey released today by the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI). The survey, conducted for WCVI by the MirRam Group, also found considerable anger at President Bush and the Republican-led Congress for failing to pass an immigration bill this year.
"There is no question that the immigration issue will help determine who Latinos vote for in tomorrow's election," said WCVI president Antonio Gonzalez. "Latinos want to see a legalization/guest worker program passed and they blame President Bush and the republican-led Congress for not passing an immigration reform bill this year."
More than a quarter of the respondents (27%) blame president Bush for not passing immigration legislation this year, and twenty-one percent blame the republicans in Congress. Only nine percent blame democrats.
Approximately one third of the Latino foreign born have become naturalized citizens according to the survey. The
U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 40-45% of the U.S. Latino population of approximately 45 million persons is foreign born.
