February 4, 2002
Report & Analysis · Other Poll Releases
ATHENS, Ga. - A majority of Georgians (55 percent) believe that immigrants settling in the state are taking jobs that no one else wants, according to the latest Peach State Poll. Only about one in four Georgians (27 percent) say that immigrants are taking jobs from Georgia residents. Additionally, 11 percent believe that immigrants who settle in Georgia are creating new jobs.
The Peach State Poll is a quarterly public opinion survey conducted by the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Georgians with annual household incomes between $20,000 and $30,000 are most likely to be skeptical of the economic impact of immigration. Forty-five percent of respondents in this income bracket believe that immigrants are taking residents' jobs, and only 36 percent say that immigrants are taking jobs that no one else wants. This is the income bracket that tends to see itself in direct competition with immigrants for jobs.
Nearly half of the state (49 percent) believes that immigration to the United States should be decreased, and another third (33 percent) say it should be kept at the present level. This finding differs sharply from a national Gallup Poll conducted in October that found 58 percent of Americans favoring a decrease in immigration. The differences between the Peach State Poll (conducted in December) and the Gallup Poll may not actually reflect differences between Georgians and the rest of the country; it is more likely that passions, which ran high following September 11, are now returning to equilibrium.
Other survey results:
· Over two-thirds of survey respondents (69 percent) say that their views about immigrants were not influenced by the September 11 terrorist attacks. Almost one in four Georgians (24 percent) admits that their views toward immigrants have become more negative since the attacks.
· The public overwhelming favors efforts to teach English to immigrant children; 62 percent of Georgians "completely agree" with the statement, "Schools should offer special classes so that immigrant children can learn English," and another 21 percent "generally agree" with this statement.
· The public is more ambivalent on the issue of bilingual education. Forty-nine percent of Georgians do not believe that bilingual education prevents immigrants from learning English, whereas 46 percent agree with this philosophy.
· Atlantans are much more likely than non-Atlantans to completely agree with the statement that schools should provide special classes to teach English to immigrant children--70 percent as opposed to 54 percent of non-Atlantans. Likewise, Atlantans are also no more likely to disagree with the statement "Bilingual education keeps immigrants from learning English."
These data are taken from a Peach State Poll conducted between December 12 and December 19, 2001. The poll included 805 telephone interviews of randomly selected adults in Georgia. For a sample of this size, the margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/- 3.5 percent.
