Should the relatives of immigrants in the USA be allowed to move to this country?

David Bower

My perspective on the issue of US immigration is different than most Americans because I am a former US citizen who returned to the United States as an immigrant. Firsthand, I know what it's like to stand in long lines at the immigration office, hoping to have my number called to speak with a screening officer. I know how hard it is to survive the jobless 6-month parole period while waiting for an immigration interview. And I know what it's like to have my immigration application denied due to technicality. I sympathize with people coming to the US because I know the system is not easy to navigate, even if you were born here.

For these reasons, I contacted 30 people and asked the following question: "Should the relatives of immigrants in the USA be allowed to move to this country?" I selected a group of 15 men and 15 women from family and friends as I thought this group would be easy to reach and would agree participating in a survey. Age ranged from approximately 24 to 83 and included 10 direct immigrants or children of immigrants from Australia, England, India and Italy. I personally interviewed, telephoned or e-mailed each person the survey question and had a follow up conversation asking for reasons supporting their opinion. In an attempt to identify trends, participants were also asked to provide the following demographic information:

Age

Ethnic Group

Marital Status

Sex

Education Level

Religion

Occupation

Birthplace

Citizenship

I anticipated three outcomes from this survey. First, I predicted a majority of respondents would agree that relatives of immigrants should be allowed into the US with the following conditions: first, they immigrate legally; second, they are sponsored and supported by their families; and finally, relatives of immigrants do not become a burden the US Government. These were the conditions of my immigration and I expected most people to support this view.

Next, I expected all respondents born outside the US to be in favor of allowing relatives of immigrants into the US. Some time in the future, this group of people could be active in sponsoring their own relatives in coming to the United States.

Finally, I anticipated approximately 10% of Caucasian men to oppose additional immigration of any kind. One possible reason is that they could feel threatened by continuing support for affirmative action measures.

This exercise in polling 30 people showed me that surveying is an extremely time consuming exercise, especially when you personally know the people being polled. Respondents, in my case friends and family, initially wanted to know the purpose of the poll and after giving their response and reasons, went on to chit-chat about other things. Most conversations lasted for 10 to 20 minutes. This equates to 5 to 10 hours on the telephone or in interviews. A small amount of time was salvaged when one person responded by e-mail. When conducting future surveys, I intend to try to keep the conversations focused on the questions and not on other things.

Overall, my predictions were accurate. Eighty-three (83%) percent of participants agreed that relatives of immigrants should be allow to move to the US. A further 13% answered "maybe" and went on to qualify their answer with conditions. Only one person, or 3% of the population, opposed further immigration of any kind.

My initial prediction in favor of immigration held true, although not all participants had the same reasons. Forty-five (45%) percent of the people in favor of immigration expressed that new Americans should not become a burden on society; 34% said they must immigrate legally; and only 24% felt that relatives of immigrants must support them long enough to become self sufficient. When applying all these conditions to the database, I found only one person, or 3% of the population to agree 100% with my prediction. Even though the majority of the people answered "yes" to the survey question, they had different reasons for doing so.

My second prediction also came true, but again, not for the same reasons forecast. Not one foreign-born American immigrant anticipated having to house or sponsor relatives in the foreseeable future. Foreign-born Americans were in favor of relatives of immigrants moving to the US for similar reasons mentioned above. This group represented 17% of the population surveyed. A further 33% of the 30 people surveyed had parents or grandparents who moved from other countries including Australia, China, England, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Portugal and Turkey. When adding these groups together, 50% of the people surveyed are 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd generation Americans. What does this mean? This is a surprising statistic as more people than I expected are close to the immigration issue. Clearly 50% of the people surveyed are dealing with life in a new country or with a parent or grandparent who has learned to live in a new country.

Finally, my last prediction was disastrous. Not one Caucasian male answered "no" to the survey question. I feel disappointed because had I asked people in this demographic group under different circumstances, I suspect their responses would be different. By promising confidentiality, I encouraged people to reveal their true feelings. Unfortunately when family and friends were asked to participate in a survey, I sensed most people felt compelled to give a politically correct answer because they knew their responses would be recorded and used for the purpose of writing a college paper. This prediction may have yielded better results with participants outside my family and friends.

Nevertheless, one Caucasian female answered "no" to the survey question, but again, not for the reasons I suggested. This person was partitioning for fairness in immigration by suggesting that people without relatives in the US would be discriminated against by having a policy allowing only relatives of immigrants to move to the US.

Meanwhile, a number of interesting demographic patterns can be seen when analyzing the data. Most of these statistics seem unrelated to the survey question and can be used to mislead an audience. Here are several examples of unrelated statistics from the population surveyed:

90% are Caucasian

87% US citizens

67% are under 50 years of age

63% are married

50% have College degrees

50% have High School education's

50% are Catholic

43% no religion

47% are white collar workers

37% are blue collar workers

By using this seemingly unrelated information, pollsters can manipulate the numbers to serve their own political agendas. For instance, if an organization wanted to lead you to believe that religion in the United States is on its way out, they could make the following factual statement based on the results of this survey: "92% of the population surveyed who have no religion, are US Citizens, according to a David Bower survey."

This statement could mislead people into believing that most Americans are not religious. In fact, the same statistics show that 57% of the people surveyed have religious beliefs and are either Catholic, Protestant or Hindu. Because of the ease in manipulating data, people should consider the source as well as any political agenda of the reporting agency when relying on survey results to form opinions or make decisions.

Another analysis of this data could determine the profile of the average survey participant to be a married, Catholic, college educated, Caucasian, male or female US citizen, aged under 50 who works in a white collar industry. However, when applying all of these qualifications to the group, only 2 people or 7% of the population are selected. Any statement referencing the 'average survey participant' could be based on the beliefs of only two people.

Finally, a few thoughts on the experience of conducting a survey. Next time I poll a group of people, I plan to do it differently. If I must conduct the survey in person or on the telephone, I will keep the conversations short and focused on the survey questions. This will allow me to talk with more people in a shorter amount of time. As an alternative to telephone polling, I would also consider an Internet poll. If positioned correctly, an Internet poll could provide a better indication of people's feelings as respondents will be participating on an anonymous basis.

Another interesting outcome from this experience was that people were curious to discover what the popular opinions were. Immediately after completing the survey, several participants were curious and asked about other peoples' responses. I suspect this is because people need a sense of belonging to a group and like their beliefs to be in line with popular opinion.

I believe the results of this survey to be accurate as the survey was conducted in a fair and professional manner. However, I also discovered how easy it can be to manipulate the data and the opinions of participants to favor a single viewpoint. Surveys are an important method of gathering, summarizing and presenting large amounts of data. However, when relying on polls to form opinions or make decisions, people should consider the source, look for any conflicts of interest, contemplate other avenues of information and draw their own conclusions.