Capitalist
Jeffersonian Liberal
- May 22, 2010
- 835
- 210
- 78
(SB County Sun)- A new study shows Latinos have soured considerably on illegal immigration in the last three years.
In 2007, 50 percent of Latinos surveyed told the Pew Hispanic Center that the growing number of illegal immigrants was a positive force for the existing Latino population. In a Pew survey released Thursday, that number had plummeted to 29 percent.
Thirty-one percent said illegal immigration had a negative effect, and 20percent said it had no effect.
While the wording of the question changed slightly in 2010 striking the phrase growing number to reflect studies that show illegal immigration declining several local advocates on different sides of the issue called the change in perception unsurprising.
Those Inland Empire voices diverged significantly, however, when it came to explaining the shift and what it means for immigration policy.
Raymond Herrera, president and founder of a Claremont-based group called We the People, Californias Crusader, said political will has been shifting since 2004.
Herrera said thats when activists like him began loudly calling for reform, slowly building what he said is a national consensus that illegal immigrants should be deported.
In 2007, 50 percent of Latinos surveyed told the Pew Hispanic Center that the growing number of illegal immigrants was a positive force for the existing Latino population. In a Pew survey released Thursday, that number had plummeted to 29 percent.
Thirty-one percent said illegal immigration had a negative effect, and 20percent said it had no effect.
While the wording of the question changed slightly in 2010 striking the phrase growing number to reflect studies that show illegal immigration declining several local advocates on different sides of the issue called the change in perception unsurprising.
Those Inland Empire voices diverged significantly, however, when it came to explaining the shift and what it means for immigration policy.
Raymond Herrera, president and founder of a Claremont-based group called We the People, Californias Crusader, said political will has been shifting since 2004.
Herrera said thats when activists like him began loudly calling for reform, slowly building what he said is a national consensus that illegal immigrants should be deported.
