Civitas Poll: Voters Favor Arizona Immigration Law

Raleigh, N.C. – A new poll released today by the Civitas Institute reveals that 64 percent of North Carolina voters favor the new law in Arizona regarding illegal immigration and a majority of voters want North Carolina to enact a similar measure.

According to the poll of 600 likely voters, 64 percent of voters said they favor the new immigration law in Arizona which tracks federal law and allows local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants for being in the state illegally.  Twenty-five percent said they oppose it, and 11 percent said they were not sure.  

In addition, 58 percent said they think North Carolina should enact a similar law. Thirty-two percent said they do not think the state should pass such a law, and nine percent said they didn’t know.

“North Carolina voters recognize the federal government’s failure to enforce the law regarding illegal immigration and agree with Arizona’s actions to take matters into their own hands,” said Civitas Institute Executive Director Francis De Luca.  “When asked, voters say they want elected leaders in North Carolina to do the same.”

While 60 percent of voters agree that enforcement of immigration should be done by the Federal government, 91 percent of all voters give the Federal government a fair or poor rating at handling enforcement.

There is bipartisan support for Arizona’s immigration law in North Carolina as Republicans favor it 84 percent-7 percent.  Unaffiliated voters support it by a 65 percent to 25 percent margin.  And half of Democratic voters (50 percent) favor the law while only 38 percent oppose it.  

“Regardless of political party, voters say the federal government has been unsuccessful in controlling the illegal immigration problem and are tired of waiting on Washington to act,” added De Luca.  “Despite the one-sided media reporting on this issue, North Carolina voters are supportive of Arizona’s actions.”

Full Text of Questions
Do you feel that the enforcement of immigration laws should be a federal matter or a state matter?
Federal – 60%
State – 21%
Both – 17%
Don’t Know/ Refused – 2%

How would you rate the federal government of their enforcement of immigration laws; excellent,
good fair or poor?
Excellent/Good – 7%
Fair/Poor – 91%

Excellent – 1%
Good – 6%
Fair – 23%
Poor – 68%
Don’t Know – 2%

How closely have you followed the new law in Arizona, which tracks federal law, and allows
local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants for being in the state illegally?
Followed it – 82%
Haven’t Followed it – 18%

Followed it Very Closely – 34%
Followed it Somewhat Closely – 48%
Haven’t followed it Very Closely – 10%
Haven’t followed it at all – 8%

Do you favor or oppose that new law in Arizona regarding illegal immigration.  
Total Favor – 64%
Total Oppose – 25%

Strongly Favor – 48%
Somewhat Favor – 17%
Somewhat Oppose – 8%
Strongly Oppose – 17%
Don’t Know/ No Opinion – 11%

Do you think North Carolina should enact a similar law?
Yes – 58%
No – 32%
Don’t Know – 9%

Would you be more or less likely to vote for a member of the state legislature who sponsors a
similar law?
Total More – 60%
Total Less – 29%

Much More – 37%
Somewhat More – 23%
Somewhat Less – 8%
Much Less – 21%
No Difference – 4%
Don’t Know/Refused – 6%

For full results and crosstabs from the poll, click here.

This poll of 600 likely general election voters in North Carolina was conducted May 20, 22-23 by National Research, Inc. of Holmdel, NJ.  All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina.  For purposes of this study, voters interviewed had to have voted in two of the past four general elections or were newly registered to vote since 2008.  An additional screening question was asked to filter only those voters having some likelihood to vote in the upcoming 2010 election.

The confidence interval associated with a sample of this size is such that: 95 percent of the time, results from 600 interviews (registered voters) will be within +-4% of the “True Values.” True Values refer to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every person in North Carolina who had voted in two of the past four general elections or were newly registered to vote since 2008.  

For more information on Civitas polling see www.nccivitas.org/media/poll-results/.
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