New Pew Hispanic Center Poll Shows Americans Overwhelmingly Reject Obama on Immigration

Back in 2009, U.S. Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) gained notoriety when at a Joint Session of Congress that addressed health care he shouted at President Obama: “You’re a liar.” The audience lustily booed Wilson.

Wilson’s reference was to the President’s insistence that Obamacare would not extend medical coverage to illegal aliens.

Since Obamacare isn’t scheduled to begin until 2014 and is now under intense Capitol Hill scrutiny, how it may deal with illegal immigrants hasn't been tested. Center for Immigration Studies’ research found, however, that because of several loopholes, at a minimum some illegal immigrants would qualify.

Calling the President of the United States a liar in a public forum can be risky. But according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, “liar” may be the word Americans might increasingly use in reference to how the President has misled the public about comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Pew found that 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Obama’s immigration policy. Surprisingly, Obama’s immigration polling is worse than it is on both health care and his overall favorability ratings which registered, respectively, disapproval levels of 59 and 53 percent.

In February, just as word leaked that the Senate Gang of 8 was drafting what would be its 1,000-plus page Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, S.744, Obama’s immigration approval score was one point higher than his disapproval, 44 to 43 percent.

Between February and today, a tidal wave of bad economic news has raised public awareness about S.744’s threat to the U.S. labor market. More than 20 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed. For those lucky enough to have a job, their wages have either stagnated or fallen for 40 years, another negative that more immigration would exacerbate. [“The Uncomfortable Truth about American Wages,” by Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney, The New York Times, October 22, 2012]

As one bad Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly jobs reports followed another, Americans became deeply skeptical that legalizing, at a minimum, 11 million illegal immigrants and issuing 20 million more non-immigrant visas to overseas workers would, as the president insists, boost the economy.

The president, the Gang of 8 and other amnesty advocates never mention the undeniable relationship between amnesty, more legal immigration and high American unemployment. More than anything, the President’s willful silence in the face of the undeniable truth that increased immigration will hurt Americans has damaged his standing.

Here’s an interesting footnote. Since Wilson spoke out, he’s been re-elected twice. On the other hand, Gang of 8 leaders Marco Rubio and Lindsay Graham have plunged in the polls. Rubio appears out of the running as a 2016 presidential candidate, a goal he coveted. Graham also has tanked. Up for election in 2014, Graham will face a primary challenge this spring. As many as three viable candidates may challenge him.

Despite the long odds against immigration reform and the public’s objection to it, Obama is determined to press his agenda into 2014. If he does, he’ll further damage his already tainted image.