Study finds gap in U.S. views of immigration

Opinions of leaders, ordinary Americans differ greatly

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. public is at odds with the country's opinion leaders on the issue of immigration, and the gap between the two is slightly greater than four years ago, according to a new survey on foreign policy.

The Center for Immigration Studies, a national think tank, on Tuesday provided a detailed analysis and summary of information collected during the summer of 2002 by The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.

Their researchers conducted 2,800 telephone interviews of Americans across the country. Interviewers also polled 400 "elites" or opinion leaders including union officials, journalists, clergy, members of Congress, corporate leaders, and academicians.

It's no surprise that the public has wanted to see lower legal immigration ... and that there's some split between the public and the elite. -- Roy Beck, an author of report on immigration

In the 2002 study, the percentage of ordinary Americans viewing immigration as a critical threat was 60 percent, while only 14 percent of the "elites" concurred, said Steven Camarota, a Center for Immigration Studies director. In a 1998 survey, 55 percent of the American public polled said immigration was a critical threat, while 18 percent of opinion leaders surveyed agreed.

The gap between the public and the nation's leaders on their perception of both legal and illegal immigration appears to be the largest among foreign policy issues, Camarota added.

"It's no surprise that the public has wanted to see lower legal immigration and definitely a halt to illegal immigration and we've also known that there's some split between the public and the elite," said Roy Beck, an author of the report.

"There have been no battles to move immigration in the direction the public wants. The battles have all been about the leaders pushing the other way," Beck said.

"Average Americans are not in the driver's seat when it comes to immigration policy," said James Gimpel, a University of Maryland government professor. "Elites have ways of profiting from mass immigration which average Americans do not."

According to its Web site, cis.org, The Center for Immigration Studies is an "independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization founded in 1985. It is the nation's only think tank devoted exclusively to research and policy analysis of the economic, social, demographic, fiscal, and other impacts of immigration on the United States."

Full results of the survey are available at The Chicago Council on Foreign Relation's Web site, ccfr.org.

Father guilty of killing 9 of his children • Helicopter crashes near U.N. • Arrest in Aruba missing girl case • FDA panel OKs drug aimed at blacks

CNN/Money: Security alert issued for 40 million credit cards • Bin Laden deputy sends message • U.S. House votes to keep U.N. dues • Iran poll to go to run-off