Study: Most Latinos oppose driver's licenses for illegal immigrants

By: WILLIAM FINN BENNETT - Staff Writer | Tuesday, August 16, 2005 10:33 PM PDT ∞

A majority of U.S. Latinos surveyed in a recent study oppose the idea of granting driver's licenses to undocumented residents, according to data released by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Most Latinos interviewed also said they favored granting illegal aliens permanent legal status and eventual citizenship.

The mix of attitudes among U.S. Latinos toward illegal immigrants showed up in a June study by the center, a Washington-based think tank.

The survey queried 1,001 Latino adults across the nation on immigration and immigration policy. Its results, the center said, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

On many of the questions, Latinos born in the United States had noticeable differences of opinion from U.S. Latinos born in other countries.

While an overwhelming majority of those interviewed said they believe immigrants in general strengthen the country through their hard work and talents, the two groups showed strong differences when asked if illegal immigrants helped or hurt the economy.

Seventy-six percent of foreign-born Latinos said that undocumented residents helped the economy by providing cheap labor. However, of U.S.-born Latinos, nearly 20 percent fewer said they believe illegal immigrants help the economy.

"Just because somebody is Latino doesn't mean they are extremely sympathetic to immigrants," said Pew Hispanic Center Director Roberto Suro in a telephone news conference Tuesday. "On a number of questions, views differ on individual policies."

Gerardo Gonzalez, director of Cal State San Marcos' National Latino Research Center, agreed, saying that the survey helped destroy the myth that all or most Latinos think alike on the issue of illegal immigration.

"To me, this report is eye-opening for folks who are not informed that attitudes (among Latinos) toward immigrants are generally favorable, while at the same time, not all Latinos hold the same beliefs and attitudes," Gonzalez said. "As a group, Latinos are obviously not monolithic."

One of the biggest differences between Latinos born in the United States and those born in other countries came on the question of whether illegal immigrants should be granted driver's licenses. Sixty percent of U.S.-born Latinos said they approved of laws that prohibit issuing licenses to undocumented immigrants, versus just 29 percent of foreign-born Latinos.

To get an idea of how people living in Mexico feel about immigration to the United States, the center said it conducted a separate survey of 1,200 adults in Mexico in February and May. On Tuesday, the center also released the results of that survey, which it said had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

One of the more salient pieces of information from that survey came in response to the question: "Would you be inclined to go work and live in the United States without authorization?"

In February and May, two of 10 respondents in Mexico answered yes. Asked if they would go to live in the United States if they had the means and opportunity, 41 percent said yes in February and 46 percent said yes in May. Asked if they would be interested in coming to the United States on a temporary work program, 71 percent said yes. That number was up by 4 percentage points from February.

Mexicans comprise 30 percent of the total foreign-born population in the United States and 58 percent of foreign-born Latinos, some data suggest.

An estimated 10 million Mexican adults live in the United States. And according to Tuesday's report, slightly more than half are living here without authorization.

Educated and more affluent Mexicans also showed a willingness to migrate. Thirty-five percent of those interviewed who have college educations, and 45 percent of those who were earning at least seven times the minimum wage, said they were prepared to migrate to the United States. Asked if they would be interested in coming to work in this country on a temporary work program, 71 percent said yes. That number was up by 4 percent from February.

A spokeswoman for another Washington-based Latino advocacy group, the League of United Latin American Citizens, said Tuesday that it's important to realize that the real cause of illegal immigration is lack of workplace enforcement, not the will of immigrants.

"We have created our own monster," said LULAC's director of policy and legislation, Gabriella Lemus. "If you have a nest of bees or ants, you go after the queen and you kill the anthill, but if you go after the worker ants, you are going to have 100,000 more ---- enforcement-wise, you have to really target the workplace."

She said that it's wrong to blame the illegal immigrants, adding that "99.9 percent of illegal immigration is really related to economic disillusionment in their own country," Lemus said.

Contact staff writer William Finn Bennett at (760) 740-5426, or wbennett@nctimes.com.

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