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August 5, 2005

Hispanics in America


Education and jobs are the top priorities for the Latino population in the United States, according to a recent Time Latino Poll. On the sensitive issue of immigration policy, Latinos are divided on how wide the United States should open its borders to legal immigrants from other countries. However, most Latinos do favor allowing illegals to live and work in the United States if they register.

Top Latino Issues: Education and Jobs
While education (48% "extremely important") and jobs (42%) lead the list of issues for Latinos, other high priorities include the environment (35%) and homeland security (35%). Bi-lingual education (29%), moral values issues (27%) and immigration (23%) fall in the middle of their issue agenda. U.S. policy toward Latin America (21%) and Cuba (8%) fall near the bottom of the list.

  • Iraq War: A majority of Latinos say the U.S. was wrong to go to war with Iraq, 56% - 34%.
How Important Are Each of the Following?
(Base: 503 Hispanic Adults)
 
Extremely Important (%)
Very Important (%)
Somewhat Important (%)
Not Very Important (%)
No Answer (%)
Education
48
47
 4
 1
 *
Jobs/Economy
42
49
 6
 2
 1
Homeland Security
35
52
 8
 3
 3
Environment
35
51
11
 2
 1
Bi-lingual Education
29
50
12
 8
 1
Moral Values Issues
27
45
17
 8
 3
Social Security Reform
26
54
11
 5
 4
War in Iraq
26
39
13
17
 5
Immigration
23
50
17
 5
 4
US Policy toward Latin America
21
48
18
 5
 8
Tax Reform
20
46
21
 6
 8
US Policy toward Cuba
 8
27
26
26
13


Do you approve or disapprove of the way
George W. Bush is handling his job as president?
 
Approve  
(%)
Disapprove
(%)
No Opinion
(%)
(Source: Gallup National)
2005 Jul 25-28
44
51
 5
(Base: 503 Latinos)
2005 Jul 28 - Aug 3
44
45
11

Split on Abortion
Latinos are split on abortion. About half (45%) would like to see the Roe v. Wade decision overturned; while a little more than two-in-five (42%) would like to see it upheld. By contrast, 2 in 3 adult Americans (65%) want to uphold the decision.

Abortion: Latinos vs. General Population
In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Roe versus Wade that women have a constitutional right to an abortion, at least in the first three months of pregnancy. Would you like to see the Supreme Court uphold its Roe versus Wade decision, or should the Court overturn it? (Base: 503 Hispanic Adults)
 
Overturn Decision
(%)
Uphold Decision
(%)
No Answer
(%)
(Gallup National)
6/24-26/05
29
65
 6
(Time Latino Survey) 7/28-8/3/05
45
42
13
**Gallup Question Wording: If one of the U.S. Supreme Court justices retired, would you want the new Supreme Court justice to be someone who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade -- the decision that legalized abortion -- or vote to uphold it?" (Source: Gallup, National Sample 1009 Adults, 18 or older)

Immigration: Latinos Ambivalent
Most Latinos believe the U.S. benefits from legal immigration, but are divided on whether the U.S. is doing enough to secure borders against illegal immigrants. However, most would welcome programs that allow illegals to register with the government as temporary workers.

Almost 2 in 3 Latinos (65%) believe that immigration of people from other countries into the United States is a "good thing." In fact, almost half (49%) of Latinos in the poll were born outside the United States and Puerto Rico.

  • Only about a third (32%), believe the United States should open the legal immigration door further, with 41% favoring current U.S. immigration policy. Almost 1 in 5 (17%) would cut back on legal immigration.

Latinos are divided on whether the U.S. is doing enough now to secure the borders against illegal immigration, with more than half saying illegal immigration into the United States is an "extremely" (29%) or "very" (32%) serious problem.

  • About a third (34%) say the U.S. is doing enough to secure its borders against illegal immigration, while 41% say it's not doing enough. Almost 1 in 5 (19%) say the U.S. is doing "too much" to keep illegals out.

Latinos are in agreement that controlling illegal immigration should be left to the government alone.

  • An overwhelming majority (77%) reject allowing citizen volunteers, such as the "Minutemen" from patrolling the borders.

Once illegals enter the U.S., many Latinos support measures that would allow them to live and work here:

  • Most (84%) favor allowing illegals, who have jobs in the U.S., to live and work here legally if they register.
  • Two-thirds (62%) favor issuing drivers' licenses to illegals.

One reason for Latino support of illegals may be that almost 3 in 4 (74%) believe illegals are "mostly taking jobs that U.S. citizens either don't want or can't do."

Hispanics and Party ID: Latinos Tilt Democratic
A majority of Latinos believe the Democratic party best represents their interests. When asked which political party best represents the interests of Latinos in the United States, a majority say Democrats (54%) compared to Republicans (16%).

  • A little more than one-third (38%) would identify themselves as Democrats with only about one-in-five identifying themselves as Independent (22%) or Republican (16%).

Latinos and Politics: Hillary is Tops
Slightly more than half (53%) don't expect a Latino nomination for President or Vice President in 2008, while about two-in-five (40%) do. Latinos are more optimistic that a Latino Presidential or Vice Presidential nomination will come in 2012 (54% expect - 37% don't expect).

Interestingly, Hispanic politicians are not among the most well-known in their community:

  • While about one-third (34%) rate US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales an "excellent" or "good" possible candidate for the Presidency/Vice Presidency, about two-in-five (41%) could not rate his candidacy. At least half were not able to rate the candidacies of Governor Bill Richardson (50% could not rate), Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (53%) or Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez (51%).

Among the presidential prospects, Senator Hillary Clinton garnered the most support and recognition from Latinos as a potential candidate for the Presidency/Vice Presidency with more than half (57%), rating her as an "excellent" (26%) or "good" (31%) candidate. Other top candidates include Senator John Kerry (46% rate as "excellent" or "good" candidate) and Former Mayor Rudolph Guiliani (42% rate as "excellent" or "good").

How Would You Rate the Following as a
Possible Candidate for President/Vice President?
(Base: 503 Hispanic Adults)
 
Excellent (%)
Good (%)
Fair (%)
Poor (%)
Can't Rate/
No Answer (%)
Senator Hillary Clinton
26
31
19
11
13
Senator John Kerry
19
27
20
16
18
Former Mayor Rudolph Guiliani
14
28
21
11
26
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
10
24
17
 7
41
Governor Bill Richardson
10
22
15
 4
50
Governor Jeb Bush
 9
16
26
26
23
Former Senator John Edwards
 8
25
24
10
33
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
 8
18
15
 6
53
Senator John McCain
 7
25
22
10
36
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
 7
22
16
 5
51
Senator Ken Salazar
 7
20
14
 5
53
Senator Mel Martinez
 6
22
17
 5
50
Senator Bill Frist
 3
14
18
 9
56

Latinos in the Media: Split Verdict
Latinos are somewhat split in their opinion of how they are portrayed by the media:

  • About half (49%) think the media has been either "somewhat" (31%) or "very" (18%) biased in covering immigration issues, while almost two-in-five (39%) think the media has been "very" (9%) or "somewhat" (30%) fair in covering these issues.
How Fair Has the Media Been in Covering Immigration?
(Base: 503 Hispanic Adults)
 
    Total    
(%)
Income Less
than $35K
(%)
Income More
than $35K
(%)
Very Fair
 9
11
 7
Somewhat Fair
30
31
26
Somewhat Biased
31
26
40
Very Biased
18
18
19
No Answer
12
14
 6

Additionally, Latinos are evenly split in terms of how they are portrayed on television and in movies:

  • About half (45%) say Latinos are portrayed fairly and half (45%) say they are NOT portrayed fairly.
  • A majority agree, there are not enough Latinos on television and in films (58% agree), Latinos in television and film are often portrayed as maids and gardeners (65%) and that news coverage of Latinos in general tends to focus too often on illegal immigration (68%) and gangs and crime (65%).
Do You Agree or Disagree That?
(Base: 503 Hispanic Adults)
 
 Agree 
(%)
Disagree
(%)
No Answer
(%)
News coverage of Latinos is often about illegal immigration
68
26
 6
Latinos often are portrayed as maids/gardeners
65
28
7
News coverage of Latinos is often about gangs/crime
65
30
 5
Not enough Latinos on TV and in films
58
34
 8


Methodology

This Time Magazine poll was conducted by telephone July 28-August 3, 2005 among a national random sample of 503 Latino adults, age 18 and older throughout America. Interviews were conducted in both English (60%) and Spanish (40%).

The margin of error for the entire sample is approximately +/-5 percentage points. The margin of error is higher for subgroups. Surveys are subject to other error sources as well, including sampling coverage error, non-response bias, recording error, and respondent error.

Schulman, Ronca, & Bucuvalas (SRBI) Public Affairs designed the survey and conducted all interviewing. The full Time questionnaire and trend data may be found in the related link below.

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