Exactly half of New Yorkers say that the number of new immigrants allowed to come to New York City to live should be decreased.
36% say that the number of brand new immigrants should be decreased a lot and 14%, a little.
Undoubtedly, this wariness of increasing the number of new immigrants allowed to come to live in the city is a product of all the turmoil and costs of processing, housing, and feeding them. Religiously interested New Yorkers often tell us that they feel that the results of political mismanagement are besieging them. However, we didn’t ask whom they blame.
However, a New York Times/Siena College Poll in October/November 2023 of 3,662 registered voters in six battleground states found that Trump was far more trusted (53%) to do a better job on immigration than Biden (41%). Registered voters in these states want more border agents (79%), deportation of immigrants who are here illegally (67%), and forcing employees to not knowingly hire unauthorized workers (62%). Asian, Black, and Hispanic Americans are beginning to leave the Democratic Party over the issue, according to the Times. Most say that they favor immigration but believe that it should be at the expense of undermining the rule of law.
In New York City, the issue of public order and authority is one of the hottest political flashpoints.
Still, 25% say that the number of new immigrants should be increased, 14% urging that the number allowed to come to the city should be increased a lot.
25% either say that the number of new immigrants allowed to come into the city should be left the same or don’t have an opinion.
40% of Journey Telegram readers are highly interested in reading about all types of religions in the city. And large numbers of them follow our stories about the religious lives of new immigrants. (See our popular series on Javi Reyes.)
Early in his administration, two-thirds of Journey Telegram readers had a favorable attitude toward Mayor Eric Adams. Lately, opinion surveys indicate that New Yorkers are getting impatient with Adams’ promise to bring order and prosperity to the city. In particular, the declaration of the city as an open haven for undocumented immigrants has caused an unusual amount of hardship for the new immigrants, a sense of added chaos in the boroughs, and budget cuts.
However, 25% of Journey Telegram readers say that the city should increase the number of immigrants allowed to settle in the city “a lot” or at least “a little.”
