MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

California voters support undocumented immigrants as “advantageous”

The controversial “wall” along the border with Mexico

California voters have an overall positive opinion about immigrants and support those undocumented aliens who have been working in the state for years should be able to remain and go on with their lives.

A public opinion poll from the Los Angeles Times and the University of Southern California shows that 48% of voters who will be going to the ballot box next November 2 believe immigration is advantageous for the state.

A solid 36% support such a stance while 32% believe they are a burden for the state’s public services.

Next November US voters will renew the 435 seats of the House of Representatives, 37 Senate benches and thirty-odd governorships including California, where immigration has been one of the hot issues of the campaign.

So far lawmakers have been unable to reach a bipartisan agreement to find a solution for the estimated 12 million undocumented aliens in the US and some of the most radical proposals include massive deportations.

However according to the poll, 59% of those who will probably vote next November 2 believe that those undocumented who have lived and worked in the US during the last two years should be able to remain in the country if a resident status can be reached.

However another 30% of expected voters are inclined to have them sent back to their countries of origin with 19% openly supporting massive deportation.

But opinions vary considerably depending on the political inclination of those interviewed: those defined as progressive support immigrants with or without documents and 75% consider them an advantage for California, and another 81% said they should be allowed to retain their jobs.

Among conservatives the picture is different: 52% defined immigrants as a burden for the state’s services and finances, with 25% describing them as an “advantage”.

The group which most supports undocumented immigrants are the Latinos. A majority, 68% said they are an advantage for California and 76% favoured them remaining in the country.

According to the National Association of Latino Employees, the Hispanic group represent 20% of the California electorate and are expected to play a decisive role in the coming mid term election. California is also the US largest state and usually leads in political affairs and initiatives.

The opinion poll was taken between October 13 and 20, among 1.501 declared Californian voters and 922 probable voters with an error margin of 3.2 percentage points.