In their push for amnesty for illegal immigrants, Democrats and left-wing activist groups have worked to change language — not only from “illegal” to “undocumented,” but also by introducing the term “Dreamer” to describe those who came to the country illegally as children.
That term, which has been successful in putting conservatives on the defensive about repealing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (“deporting a Dreamer” is a less popular stance that “deporting an illegal immigrant”), is now being used in polls to suggest the public supports the establishment of DACA in legislation.
This is demonstrated in a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Tuesday, for which the accompanying Politico article declares triumphantly: “Voters overwhelmingly support allowing undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to stay in the country…placing President Donald Trump’s decision to wind down the controversial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program at odds with public opinion.”
But a glance at the polling data tells the story of some far from neutral language that may have helped push respondents a certain way.
An early question in the poll correctly describes those eligible for DACA as “young people who were brought to the United States illegally when they were children, often with their parents.” However, later in the poll, the questions veer off course.
The very next question is phrased as follows:
As you may know, President Trump recently announced he would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an executive order issued in 2012 that granted eligible Dreamers protection from deportation. Do you believe ending this program was the right thing or the wrong thing for President Trump to do?
The question does not mention “illegal immigrants,” “amnesty” or any other unpopular terms. Instead, it talks about offering “Dreamers protection.”
The next question, from which Politico got its article headline, reads as follows:
When it comes to legislation regarding Dreamers, which of the following would you most like Congress to pass?
Legislation that allows Dreamers to stay and become
citizens if they meet certain requirements (54%)
Legislation that allows Dreamers to stay and become
legal residents, but NOT citizens, if they meet certain
requirements (19%)
Legislation that removes or deports Dreamers from the United States (12%)
Don’t Know / No Opinion (15%)
Again there are the multiple references to “Dreamers” in a single question (why would you deport someone for dreaming a dream?) but there are other problems.
The question does not set out what “requirements” are made of said “Dreamers.” Additionally, the poll does not include the option favored by conservatives, including in the Trump administration — namely just to allow the permits to expire and therefore encourage so-called “self-deportation.”
While a more neutral question may have offered similar answers, it is unclear.
Notably, in a more straightforward question asking voters what priority they placed on the wall — only 35% of those polled said it should not be built, while 56 percent said it should either be a top (21%), important (20%), or not too important (15%) priority.
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
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