Crisis had little effect on attitudes on immigration

Support for legalization of illegal immigrants up in Europe and down in US,

3rd December 2009: The global financial crisis has not had a strong impact on views toward immigration, the second-annual Transatlantic Trends: Immigration survey shows.

This year 50 percent of Europeans and 54 percent of respondents in the United States described immigration as “more of a problem,” an increase from 43 percent and 50 percent, respectively, in 2008.

“The Transatlantic Trends: Immigration” public opinion survey addresses immigration and integration issues including the effect of the economic crisis on attitudes toward immigration, immigrants’ labour market impacts and effects on wages, and preferences for temporary vs. permanent labour migration programs. The survey also gauges opinion on a legalization program for illegal immigrants and asks respondents to rate how their government is managing immigration. It measures public opinion on immigration issues in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Respondents in all countries grossly overestimated the share of immigrants in their countries. Americans thought that 35% of the population in the United States are immigrants (the real number is closer to 14%), Canadians estimated 37% (20% in reality), and Europeans estimated an average of 24% (of the European countries surveyed, Spain and Germany have the highest share at 13%).

“The misconceptions about the numbers of immigrants in the United States, Canada, and Europe, provide a teaching moment for their governments,” said GMF President Craig Kennedy. “The gap can and does change the debate in tangible ways.”

In all countries except the United States, respondents whose household economic situation got worse in the past year were slightly more likely to be worried about legal immigration. However, the economic crisis has not had a large effect on overall attitudes. Those on the political right in Europe and those describing themselves as Republican in the United States had 7- and 15-point jumps, respectively, in saying that immigration was more of a problem than an opportunity compared to 2008.

Countries were divided on whether or not to give illegal immigrants the opportunity to obtain legal status.

German and French respondents were in favour, Italians and Brits were against, and Dutch, Spanish, and Canadian respondents were split. But all European countries saw an increase in support for legalization over the previous year. The United States showed declining support for a legalization measure (49% supported it in 2008, 44% in 2009). 

As in 2008, majorities in all countries surveyed indicated that “legal immigrants who come to the country to work” should be given the opportunity to immigrate permanently, rather than forced to return to their countries of origin after a temporary period.

Majorities in all countries supported providing social benefits and granting political participation rights to legal immigrants, though only France (65%), Italy (53%), and Spain (53%) clearly support granting local voting rights to them.

A plurality or majority in the three Mediterranean countries surveyed - France (44%), Italy (45%), and Spain (51%) - thought that increasing development aid would be the best way to reduce illegal immigration, favouring this policy over border controls, employer sanctions, and facilitating legal immigration.

Opinions as to how governments are managing immigration differed wildly across countries — British (71%), Spanish (64%), American (63%), and Italian (53%) respondents disapproved of their governments’ management, but Germans (71%), Canadians (59%), the Dutch (53%), and the French (50%) approved of the steps taken thus far.

A majority in all European countries except the U.K. favoured immigration policy formulation by the European Union as a whole, rather than at national or local levels. Across European countries as a whole, support averaged 56% - but was only at 30% among respondents in the UK.

“Transatlantic Trends: Immigration” is a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (U.S.), the Compagnia di San Paolo (Italy), and the Barrow Cadbury Trust (U.K.), with additional support from the Fundación BBVA.