NEW YORK, Nov. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- President Obama set off no small amount of controversy last week when he announced sweeping executive actions on immigration policy. While conservatives have decried the actions as overstepping presidential authority, the president has responded with the simple and open challenge for Congress to "pass a bill." But several days before President Obama even hinted at his intent, immigration was already among the issues Americans saw as most important for the government to address, with 24% of U.S. adults naming it – without prompt – as a top issue for action. This represents considerable growth from the 17% saying the same in June and a threefold increase from the 8% prioritizing immigration last December.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,276 U.S. adults surveyed online between November 12 and 17, 2014 (President Obama announced his executive actions on November 20). (Full results, including data tables, available here)
Immigration isn't the only issue on Americans' minds. It falls just behind healthcare (including mentions of the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare" – 26%, up from 22% in June) and the economy (25%, down slightly from 27%), and just ahead of employment/jobs (20%, down from 23% in June).
Further down the list, 9% of Americans mention the budget deficit or national debt, 7% point to education, and 6% each name the environment and terrorism. Meanwhile, 5% each name budget/government spending, taxes and issues related to the income gap/wealth inequality in America.
Priorities by party
There are some differences in how the top five issues rank depending on party affiliation (or lack thereof).
- For Republicans, immigration is the top priority, followed by healthcare. The economy comes in third, followed by employment/jobs in fourth and the budget deficit/national debt closing out the top five priorities.
- Healthcare comes in first among Democrats, with the economy ranking second. Employment/jobs come in third, immigration fourth and the environment and education tie for the fifth position.
- For Independents, the economy and immigration tie for first priority, followed by healthcare. Employment/jobs comes in third, followed by the budget deficit/national debt in fourth. The environment rounds out Independents' top five.
Expectations for Republican controlled Congress
Setting aside which issues Americans think the government should prioritise – which ones do they think will fare well and poorly under a Republican congress? The highest percentages of Americans indicate Republican control of congress will be a good thing for the U.S. economy (44%, vs. 39% who think it will be bad and 17% who think it will make no difference), for employment/jobs (42% vs. 37% and 21%, respectively), and for education (39% vs. 36% and 24%, respectively).
Americans are most likely to think the new congressional order will be a bad thing for income inequality (48%, vs. 26% who think it will be a good thing and 25% who think it will make no difference), political corruption (43% vs. 25% and 32%, respectively), congressional gridlock (42% vs. 37% and 21%, respectively) and race relations (41% vs. 27% and 32%, respectively).
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Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online, in English, within the United States between November 12 and 17, 2014 among 2,276 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, The Harris Poll avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of The Harris Poll.
The Harris Poll® #107, November 25, 2014
By Larry Shannon-Missal, Managing Editor, The Harris Poll
About The Harris Poll®
Begun in 1963, The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys measuring public opinion in the U.S. and is highly regarded throughout the world. The nationally representative polls, conducted primarily online, measure the knowledge, opinions, behaviors and motivations of the general public. New and trended polls on a wide variety of subjects including politics, the economy, healthcare, foreign affairs, science and technology, sports and entertainment, and lifestyles are published weekly. For more information, or to see other recent polls, visit the Harris Poll News Room.
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SOURCE The Harris Poll
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