Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Most American voters support a limited legalization plan for undocumented immigrants who work and pay taxes, according to a poll released Tuesday by a labor union and a health care company.
The scientific poll of 1,000 likely voters nationwide also showed strong support among Latino respondents for President George W. Bush's handling of immigration issues.
Bush is expected to unveil his immigrant legalization plan during a Sept. 5 White House visit by Mexico's President Vicente Fox.
``The climate for legalization has never been better,'' said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the 1.4 million-member Service Employees International Union.
Overall, 59 percent of those surveyed said they would support limited legalization, with 34 percent opposed and 7 percent venturing no opinion.
Legalization was supported by 84 percent of Latino respondents, who made up 8 percent of those surveyed. African-American voters, accounting for 9 percent of respondents, gave an approval rating of 63 percent. Whites, who made up 80 percent of those polled, recorded an approval rating of 59 percent.
When it came to Bush's overall performance on immigration issues, 45 percent of Latinos approved of the president's record, while 22 percent disapproved and 33 percent had no opinion.
Whites were evenly split, with 30 percent approving and 30 percent disapproving Bush's record. Only 25 percent of African-Americans approved of Bush's handling of immigration.
The SEIU, which has organized thousands of immigrant workers with its Justice for Janitors and other campaigns, paid for the survey along with San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West, which owns and operates Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Northridge Hospital Medical Center, San Gabriel Valley Medical Center and St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach.
Respondents to the telephone poll, conducted Aug. 5-8, also set specific criteria for legalization. They urged that immigrants furnish proof that they have paid U.S. taxes, have no criminal record and have steady work. They also placed great emphasis on having all legalized immigrants learn English.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. It was conducted by Democratic Party pollster and strategist Celinda Lake and Ed Goeas, a Republican Party survey specialist and consultant.
Goeas said the survey showed Bush was beginning to win favor with Latino voters, who have heavily backed Democratic candidates in recent elections.
Lake said that data was unavailable on Californians' responses to the survey. But she noted that overall trends were the same in every region of the country.
Critics questioned the survey's results.
``I don't believe this poll. I think somebody's screwing with the numbers,'' said Glenn Spencer, president of the Sherman Oaks-based American Patrol and an advocate of tightened immigration controls. ``I wonder what the results would have been if the SEIU had asked, 'Are you in favor of amnesty for illegals?'''
Spencer said Bush's legalization moves have reinvigorated immigration foes, who plan a Sept. 2 rally at the Beverly Garland Hotel in North Hollywood.
``We're disappointed in the president and we're still at war,'' he said. ``Proposition 187 was just the first shot.''
Other recent surveys on immigration issues have produced a mixed bag of responses. A July 18 Gallup Poll, which sampled 1,375 likely voters nationwide, found only 14 percent of respondents favoring increased immigration while 42 percent backed maintaining current levels and 41 percent backed a decrease.
An April 17 Zogby Poll of California voters found 47 percent of respondents backing and 46 percent opposing a proposal to ask Gov. Gray Davis to advocate a reduction in immigration. The survey was commissioned by the Oakland-based Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America, a group favoring stricter immigration controls.
On Monday, the University of California at Irvine and Pacific Opinions released a survey of 641 registered Orange County voters that found 57 percent in favor of a new guest worker program and 54 percent supporting an amnesty for undocumented immigrants.
Also, an unscientific phone-in survey conducted in July by the Daily News drew more than 5,000 calls, with 98 percent of respondents stating opposition to legalization for undocumented immigrants.
