The survey, done as part of the Mason Project on Immigration, was conducted during a three week period ending June 5, at a time of rising debate and news coverage of immigration policy. Topics covered were extensive and included sensitive issues such as government-sponsored day labor centers, Minutemen-like border patrol groups, crime, unemployment, quality of life and even terrorism. 

“Given the difficulty that federal legislation has faced, we need to pay careful attention to perceptions at the state and local level,” said sociologist Steven Vallas, director of the center and the study’s designer. “This survey provides a timely portrayal of how the immigration debate has taken shape in the commonwealth and speaks to how the nation at large is sharply divided on the issue.”

Based on interviews with a random sample of 1,072 respondents drawn from around the state, the survey showed that when looking at race, African Americans emerge as the most cautious ethnic group, and often express fear that undocumented immigrants will undermine their positions within the economy and society. Nearly half of all African Americans in the survey (49 percent), compared with only 29 percent of non-Hispanic whites, agreed strongly that undocumented immigration tends “to lower the wages and salaries of American workers.” 

Political views were also among the strongest determinants of respondents’ attitudes—with 75 percent of the most conservative respondents believing that undocumented immigrants take jobs away from American workers, compared with only 32 percent of those who consider themselves strongly liberal.

Responses were also sharply divided according to region. The survey showed that residents in metropolitan Northern Virginia and Charlottesville hold relatively accomodating views of undocumented immigration, while Virginians living in regions that have faced greater economic hardship in recent years, such as the south-central and Piedmont regions, tend to be more negative in their views. 

Other findings include:

• In general, those with less education and lower household income tend to hold more negative views of illegal immigration.

• Those living in areas that have higher rates of unemployment or poverty also view illegal immigration more negatively.

• Most Virginians favor some kind of legal status for the undocumented: 40 percent of respondents favored granting illegal immigrants permanent residency, while another 38 percent favored guest worker status. Only one in five (20.7 percent) Virginians rejected any path toward legal status.

• 73 percent of Virginians think that the police should check immigration status during routine activities such as traffic violation stops. 

• The most conservative respondents in the study were three times more likely to agree strongly that undocumented immigration will “increase the danger of terrorism” (61 percent) than were the most liberal respondents (19 percent). 

“These findings indicate that divisions and debates about immigration are by no means limited to the halls of Congress and legislative bodies,” says Vallas. “Communities and social groups hold sharply different positions in relation to immigration, generating a divisive pattern that is not likely to wane anytime soon. Even if federal immigration reforms move through the U.S. Congress, the fault lines that cut across local counties and municipalities are likely to make themselves felt.”

Editor’s note: Selected tables from the report are given below.