More Misinformation from the Media:
A new poll from the Washington Post and ABC News shows Donald Trump’s Immigration proposals are hugely unpopular with the American people. . . . The 15 percent who favor mass deportation is in contrast to the 79 percent who favor a pathway to citizenship with background checks. – Donald Trump Is Doing a Great Job Making People Like Immigrants More, The Washington Post, 9/13/16, Aaron Blake.
Fact Check: This is a false choice commonly presented by amnesty advocates. As one alternative they raise the specter of “mass deportations” which suggest massive, immediate, and draconian actions to round up and remove all of the 11 million or so illegal aliens now living in the U.S. They point out that such an action would be highly disruptive and costly. Therefore, they claim, legal status for illegal aliens (amnesty) is the only feasible alternative.
What they say is reasonable—so far as it goes—and this is why the people given these alternatives in polls, like the one cited, usually show strong preference for legalization. The problem is that these polls don’t offer a third option called attrition through enforcement. It proposes a slow but steady increase in immigration law enforcement, with an emphasis on making it difficult for illegal aliens to keep and hold jobs in the U.S. One example is making the E-Verify system mandatory for all employers. E-Verify enables employers to determine the legal status of new hires by doing a quick electronic check through federal data bases.
As it becomes increasingly difficult for illegal aliens to hold jobs and otherwise live in the U.S., many will go home on their own accord. It won’t be necessary to deport them because they will in effect deport themselves.
Is there a poll showing what Americans prefer if they have the option of attrition through enforcement? In 2013 a Pulse Opinion Research survey offered this choice as opposed to legalization (amnesty). Fifty-eight percent of respondents chose attrition through enforcement, as opposed to 31 percent who opted for legalization.
The Washington Post poll did not offer attrition through enforcement as a choice. As a consequence, the pro-amnesty Post got the result it wanted.