Quinnipiac Poll: Confusing

Source: Quinnipiac

So Quinnipiac threw a poll and got some answers that confuse me more than a little bit..

November 21, 2006 - Let Illegal Immigrants Become Citizens, U.S. Voters Tell Quinnipiac University National Poll; But Do More To Tighten The Borders, Voters Say

Building a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexican border is "enough for now," 24 percent of voters say, but 71 percent say, "additional measures are needed from Congress to deal with illegal immigrants entering the country."

Yep

Building a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexican border is "enough for now," 24 percent of voters say, but 71 percent say, "additional measures are needed from Congress to deal with illegal immigrants entering the country."

Yep

American voters support 65 - 32 percent laws in their own community to fine businesses which hire illegal immigrants. Republicans support fines for businesses 72 - 25 percent, with Democrats at 58 - 38 percent and independent voters at 65 - 31 percent.

Yep

Americans also want to close the borders to keep out illegal immigrants in the future," Carroll added. "There are big margins for a tougher border policy among all parties and among men and women."

Yep

"Americans think more needs to be done to deal with illegal immigration, and they want it done in their own neighborhoods as well. By a 2 - 1 margin, they want businesses in their home towns to be fined if they knowingly employ illegal immigrants," Carroll said.

Yep

By a 69 - 27 percent margin, American voters say illegal immigrants should be allowed into a guest worker program with the ability to work toward citizenship over a period of several years, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Republicans support the guest worker to citizenship path 66 - 31 percent, while Democrats back it 73 - 23 percent and independent voters back it 71 - 24 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

Huh?

Does not compute. You can see the poll results here.

Immigration News Daily suggests polls ask the wrong questions "It is as though respondents' to these kinds of polls want it both ways, meaning any one solution adopted will be neutralized by the other competing solution. Clearly then, immigration polls are asking the wrong questions. Consider this question which 69% agreed with: "Currently illegal immigrants cannot apply for citizenship. If the law were changed to allow illegal immigrants to register into a guest worker program, should that program offer them the ability to work toward citizenship over a period of several years?"

One can only wonder how respondents would have responded with the above question reduced to: "Currently illegal immigrants cannot apply for citizenship. If the law were changed to allow illegal immigrants in the country illegally to apply for citizenship, would you support such a law?" Remove antiseptic words like "register" and "guest worker program," which are employed to mask the act of amnesty - results of this poll could have turned out much different."

Thoughts?

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