ALLIANCE SAN DIEGO
New-Citizen Voters
13.5%
Between March 27 and April 1, 2013, ASD conducted a phone survey of young (18-40) new-citizen Latino voters in San Diego, National City, and Chula Vista who voted in the last election.
6.5%
80%
New-citizen voters are individuals who were born abroad, immigrated to the United States, became citizens and registered to vote. In San Diego County, these voters make up a sizable share of the county’s electorate. Of the 1.5 million registered voters, 211,018 (13.5%) are new-citizens (foreignborn). In November 2012, 73% of these new-citizen voters (153,728) cast their vote. Their presence had a significant impact on elections across the county.
San Diego County Registered Voters
New-Citizen Voters US Born Unknown
San Diego County Electorate 2000000
13% 1500000
1,559,620 1,187,306
1000000
87%
500000 211,018 0
153,728
Registered Voters
Voted 11/2012
New-Citizen US Born/Unknown
Source: San Diego County Voter Data from Political
3 7 5 0 3 0 t h S t r e e t , S a n D i e g o , C A 9 210 4 • 619 - 2 6 9 - 18 2 3 • a l l i a n c e s d . o r g
SURVEY OF NEW-CITIZEN VOTERS ON BORDER ENFORCEMENT & IMMIGRATION REFORM Between March 27 and April 1, 2013, Alliance San Diego conducted a phone survey of 988 new-citizen voters (foreign-born) in San Diego County on questions relating to border enforcement and immigration reform. These voters are part of immigrant families, live in a border county and have the most at stake in the current national debate on immigration and border enforcement reform. Because their voices are not currently a part of the debate, despite being a growing part of the electorate, we conducted a fivequestion survey to hear and share their opinions. Here are the results. I’m with Alliance San Diego, a local community organization interested in talking to voters like you to get your input on immigration reform. Do you have a few minutes to talk to us? (1) Some members of Congress think that we should focus first on border enforcement before creating a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented families living in our communities. Others think that we should NOT wait and should create a pathway to citizenship at the same time that we are focusing on enforcement. Do you think Congress should act now to create a pathway to citizenship? 72% YES / 20% NO / 8% UNDECIDED (2) Some members of Congress believe that U.S. citizens who legally marry same-sex partner should be allowed to petition their spouse to join them in this country. Do you believe that samesex couples should have the same rights as other married couples to immigrate their loved one? 75% YES / 18% NO / 7% UNDECIDED (3) Unlike in the rest of the country, Border Patrol has extraordinary power throughout San Diego County to stop and question anyone in a bus, trolley, train, or car without first establishing any suspicion of wrongdoing. Some members of Congress think that Border Patrol’s power should be limited to the actual border and should not extend throughout the county. Do you agree or disagree? 75% YES / 20% NO / 5% UNDECIDED (4) Currently there are over 20,000 Border Patrol agents, making Customs and Border Protection the largest law enforcement agency in the country. Undocumented migration is at an alltime low and each agent is apprehending an average of less than 2 people a month. Despite this, some Members of Congress believe that we should spend more money on additional Border Patrol agents. Do you believe more of your tax dollars should be used to hire additional border agents? 15% YES / 79% NO / 6% UNDECIDED (5) The busiest port of entry in the world is located in San Diego County. As security needs have increased so have long waits at our border crossings due to poor infrastructure. Some members of Congress believe that investing in infrastructure to modernize our ports and reduce border waits should be included as part of immigration reform. Do you believe that port modernization should be included in immigration reform? 62% YES / 28% NO / 10% UNDECIDED
3 7 5 0 3 0 t h S t r e e t , S a n D i e g o , C A 9 210 4 • 619 - 2 6 9 - 18 2 3 • a l l i a n c e s d . o r g