Almost Half Of U.S. Residents Support Providing Emergency Care For Immigrants, Poll Finds

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 07 Dec 2007 - 6:00 PDT

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Significantly more people are in favor of providing emergency medical treatment and public schooling to undocumented and documented immigrants than offering them access to other services and benefits, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The poll also found that 46% of respondents believe immigrants, whether undocumented or documented, should be able to receive treatment in EDs, while one-third support denying social services, including access to EDs and public schooling, to undocumented immigrants.

Among respondents who believe immigrants have a negative effect on life in the U.S., 35% cited loss of American jobs, 30% cited increased crime, and 19% pointed to increases in the cost of social services. Immigration was cited as the fifth-most-important issue for presidential candidates to address, following the Iraq war, the economy, terrorism and health care.

The survey was conducted Friday through Monday with 1,245 registered voters. The margin of error was plus or minus three percentage points (Hook, Los Angeles Times, 12/6).

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