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Poll: NYC Residents Resoundingly Oppose Arizona’s Immigration Law

Posted August 23, 2010 by Ted Hesson
Categories: New York

While national polling has shown that the majority of Americans support Arizona’s controversial immigration law, SB 1070, New York City residents buck that trend, in keeping with the city’s longtime image as a cross-cultural melting pot that embraces immigration.

According to a recent poll by the New York Daily News and Marist College, New Yorkers oppose SB 1070 by a nearly 2-1 margin.

The Daily News gathered feedback about the results from Chung-Wha Hong, the executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition:

New York immigration rights activists were not surprised by the overall negativity toward the legislation.

“New Yorkers know what this is about,” said Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition. “They get it. They know that hyping up the phobia is not the answer.”

The poll showed that black and Latino residents were more likely to oppose SB 1070, while whites favored the law by a small margin.

From the Daily News:

While 78% of blacks and 70% of Latinos are against the law, the percentage among whites was 49-47 in favor of the law, the survey reported.

The poll also asked participants whether they would notify police about a person who was in the country illegally, a relevant question, since Arizona’s law would force police to use “reasonable suspicion” to determine the immigration status of anyone detained.

Of those surveyed, Latinos were the most likely to report an undocumented immigrant. “Twenty percent of Latinos said they would call the cops, compared with 16% of whites and 15% of blacks,” the Daily News reported.

Poll participants were also grouped by political affiliation: “Twenty-six percent of local GOPers said they would report an illegal,” according to the Daily News. “Just 15% of Democrats felt the same way.”

For the complete poll data, click here.

Tags : arizona, daily news, marist, nyc, poll, sb 1070

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