FAIR: New West Virginia Poll Reveals Political Risk for Manchin Unless He Opposes Amnesty in Budget Reconciliation

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A new poll finds that West Virginia voters overwhelmingly blame President Biden for the border crisis and oppose efforts to include a massive amnesty for illegal aliens in a spending bill intended to upgrade the nation's infrastructure. The poll of 402 likely voters in West Virginia was conducted by Zogby Analytics on behalf of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) between July 9 and 12.

Democratic leaders are seeking to use the Budget Reconciliation process that allows legislation that has significant impact on the federal budget to bypass normal Senate rules that require 60 votes to bring a bill to the floor. Invoking Budget Reconciliation would allow passage with just 51 votes.

By large margins, 52% to 34%, West Virginia voters object to the use of this legislative tactic "to enact major immigration legislation." Opposition to including amnesty for millions of illegal aliens cut across all demographic and party lines. Further, voters clearly reject the idea of large-scale amnesty in the midst of unprecedented numbers of new illegal migrants crossing our borders.

Among the key findings of the poll:

• 52% of voters oppose of including an amnesty for illegal aliens in a bill to fund infrastructure upgrades. Only 34% would support such an effort.
• 55% said they would be less likely to support Senator Joe Manchin if he were to support efforts to short-circuit normal Senate rules in order to gain amnesty for illegal aliens. Only 24% said it would make them more likely to support him.
• 52% of voters agree that granting "amnesty, or a pathway to citizenship, to millions of illegal immigrants already in the United States" would exacerbate the current immigration and border crisis.
• 59% of West Virginia voters hold the Biden administration and its policies responsible for the current immigration and border crisis.
• 70% believe that the "situation at the border represents a humanitarian, health, and national security crisis for the United States and steps must be taken to end it."

"It is clear to people in West Virginia that amnesty for illegal aliens has no place in a bill to upgrade our nation infrastructure," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "Illegal aliens can in no reasonable way be construed as infrastructure and people of all political stripes have a visceral objection to gimmicking Senate rules to enact social policies, like a massive amnesty, that could never gain passage on their own merits.

"The reckless policies of the Biden administration have created an unprecedented illegal immigration crisis. The voters are very clear: Any senator who yields to pressure from their party's radical fringe, and resorts to legislative trickery to gain amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, does so at his or her political peril," concluded Stein.

The full results of the Zogby Analytics poll can be found here.

Contact: Matthew Tragesser, 202-328-7004 or [email protected]

ABOUT FAIR        

Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 3 million members and supporters nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)