Americans have some strangely conflicting views on immigrants

A recent study from the Pew Research Center reveal that Americans have some mixed feelings when it comes to incoming immigrants.

One public opinion poll asked Americans whether they felt that immigrants in the US had improved or harmed the country in several categories. 

Fifty percent of respondents felt that immigrants were making the economy worse while only 28 percent felt that they are making it better.

Despite that, 29 percent felt that immigrants are improving the state of science and technology in the US while only 12 percent think they are harming it. The majority — 56 percent — saw no effect in science and tech.

Another key concern was crime.

While Pew had previously found that native-born Americans and second-generation immigrants committed more crime than foreign-born immigrants, half of Americans said that immigrants in the US were making crime worse. Only seven percent felt that crime was improving with immigration while 41 percent saw no difference.

When it comes to culture, those polled were far more positive.

Forty-nine percent of respondents said immigrants were making food, music, and the arts in the US better while only 11 percent said that culture had gotten worse.

The poll also asked whether immigrants were improving or harming American "social and moral values." While the plurality of respondents didn"t see an effect on American values, 34 percent thought values were degrading because of immigrants — nearly twice as many as felt the opposite.

For more information, read the full report at Pew Hispanic.

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Source: businessinsider.com

Americans have some strangely conflicting views on immigrants

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