Posted on 01/22/2018 5:06:10 PM PST by markomalley
Sen. Lindsey Graham ripped senior White House aide Stephen Miller as holding immigration views that are out of the American political mainstream, but a new poll suggests it is the South Carolina senator who is alienated form public sentiment.
The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll indicates a majority opposed the partial government shutdown that Graham supported and suggested broad support for many of the immigration views that Miller — and his boss, President Donald Trump — advocate.
The survey of 980 registered voters found 65 percent favored a law giving work permits to young illegal immigrants whose parents brought them to the United States as children as long as the deal also included switching to a merit-based immigration system and limiting “chain migration.”
Those results included 68 percent of Hispanic voters, 64 percent of black voters, 64 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of liberals.
(video at link)
The poll also found that 58 percent of voters opposed shutting down the government over the issue of the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which grants a qualified form of amnesty to that population. Democrats and a few Republicans forced the shutdown on Friday, although Congress voted on Monday to fund the government through February 8.
Voters surveyed also were not keen on DACA recipients getting preference for their parents and relatives to move to the United States. Some 60 percent of voters opposed it.
Graham told reporters over the weekend that Miller was particularly out of step with his views on changes to the legal immigration system.
“I’ve known him for a long time. I know he’s passionate, and I know he was an early supporter of the president,” Graham said. “But I’ll just tell you, his view of immigration has never been in the mainstream in the Senate … Mr. Miller wants to restrict legal immigration at a time when we have a worker shortage.”
Miller may be out of touch with the Senate, as Graham said. But the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found the public is much closer to Miller and the White House that it is to Graham.
Some 79 percent said immigration priority should be given to people whose education and skills make it likely they can contribute positively to America. That is a view shared by 85 percent of black voters and 72 percent of those who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
Majorities of Democrats, Hispanics and African-American — and 68 percent of respondents overall — oppose the diversity visa lottery, which randomly awards green cards to about 50,000 people chose at random from applicants drawn from around the world. Ending the system is another Trump priority.
The results are similar to those found earlier this month in a poll commissioned by NumbersUSA, which favors a reduction in immigration to the United States.
“That was exactly my same thought, that, wow, these answers are really similar to ours,” said Chris Chmielenski, director of content and activism at the organization.
Chmielenski said the new survey, coming from Harvard University’s Center for American Political Studies and the Harris Poll, might have more credibility.
“It was nice to have someone else asking these questions other than us,” he said.
Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), agreed the survey would be harder to dismiss than one paid for by an advocacy organization.
“These institutions don’t have a dog in this fight, per se,” he told LifeZette. “They have no particular interest in the outcome.”
Other findings is the Harvard/Harris poll include:
Chmielenski said those results are a power argument against Graham’s characterization of Miller’s views.
“If Lindsey Graham were mainstream, we’d have open borders,” he said.
Mehlman said Graham may well be right that Miller is out of the mainstream — inside the Senate. But he said public sentiment is clear and undoubtedly played into the calculations of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to throw in the towel Monday on the shutdown.
“I think they do recognize that the public is against them on this,” Mehlman said.
I don’t understand what is wrong with Graham, it’s like he chooses his positions at random.
He's probably porking some Mexican DACA boy.
Senator?
SOB should be a towel boy at a mens bath house.
More suitable for him.
Linda is up in 20 he comes from a red state l can’t believe he got back in last time. Was it another divide the base primary? You can bet a lot of Rats vote for him in the Primary.
He looks terrified. He is way out on a limb and he knows it. Someone has something on him and if he was smart he would go to PDJT and confess all and ask for protection
In case any Linda staffers are reading this forum, post #3 was sarcasm.
America does not need Lindsey Graham for anything.
South Carolina, please remove your jackass from our government, kthx.
"It's ok Lindsy! Those photos will be safe with me, he he!"
Yeb comforting Linda after Linda only got 1% of the vote in his
SC home state GOP Presidential Primary.
Trump crushed him like roach Linda is.
But Yeb was there to comfort him.
PING
Lindsay crossed the line by opposing Trump and Miller on this one. Trump needs to primary him 100% now.
I hope S.C. voters remember it was Grahamnesty’s vote that closed down the government!
Why do they keep voting for Graham who is dead set to destroy this country?
There's the key.
I still think Trump, aided by Rush, Hannity, etc., all need to directly & publicly confront Graham and friends:
Who the hell do you work for, anyway? Your voters? Or your big donors?
If Americans agreed or wanted Lindsey’s version of immigration, he perhaps, would have gotten a lot closer to being POTUS. He was completely rejected by US citizen voters because of his nutty open borders stance. He didn’t even come close to winning.
He couldn’t even get 1%.
The extent of his failure as a politician is absolutely mind blowing, and yet somehow he remains a politician, and believes he is God’s gift to everyone and everything.
There are not even words to describe how much I detest this individual.
The Amnesty Senators have chosen to Make America North Mexico.
George H W Bush began this plan shortly after the last amnesty.
The Bush League Republicans have been preventing US from electing anyone who would side with US for decades.
mainstream in the Senate...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That is the key.
We have 4, maybe 5, Senators that side with the citizens and the rule law.
Flake, Corker, Hatch, Heller, Alexander, Graham, McCain, Murkowsky, Hoeven, Rubio, Tillis, Burr, Lankford, Gardner, Cornyn, Cochran, Collins, Sasse, Kennedy, Shelby, Ernst and Blunt are all in favor of amnesty.
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