Donald Trump has railed against illegal immigration in this campaign for the presidency, but a poll released Monday finds his supporters also oppose legal immigration.
The poll by the University of Southern California found that voters who believe the United States currently issues too many immigration visas back Trump over Hillary Clinton by more than two to one.
“Voters who see legal immigrants as strengthening the economy, revitalizing inner cities, and adding variety to American life support Clinton by wide margins,” said survey director Jill Darling. “Trump leads among those who see immigrants as competing for American jobs, looking for handouts, and negatively impacting the American way of life.”
The poll found 63 percent of the voters who believe people on visas “take jobs away from Americans” plan to vote for Trump while 28 percent are for Clinton
One irony of the poll’s finding is that two of Trump’s three wives, Ivana and Melania, are legal immigrants.
The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Daybreak Poll was conducted from Sept. 5 to 18 among 2,577 eligible voters.
Voters were asked if the 1 million immigration visas that the United States issues annually to people who would like to work in the United States are “too many,” “too few” or about the right number and then who they supported for President. Clinton had big leads among voters who said “two few” or about right.