A majority of rural Nebraskans think that undocumented workers who have been working and paying taxes for at least five years should be allowed to apply for American citizenship but don't think Latin American immigration has been good for rural Nebraska, according to the Nebraska Rural Poll. The poll also found that more than two-thirds don't believe important information should be communicated to Spanish-speaking arrivals in their native tongue.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers say the 11th annual Rural Poll's findings seem to reflect rural Nebraskans' recognition that parts of the state are undergoing significant change from Latin Americans' immigration -- and that rural Nebraskans are struggling with how to come to terms with that change. In its sampling of Latino residents, the poll also reflects that rural Latinos often voice divergent ideas about immigration policies and impacts.

"For many of our rural communities, the question is not will they change, but in what direction will they change," said UNL sociologist Miguel Carranza, part of the research team that created and analyzed the poll. "Most communities have not looked at the question of 'How can we view immigrants as an asset?'"

Rural Poll surveys were mailed in March to about 6,200 randomly selected households in Nebraska's 84 rural counties and to almost 700 randomly selected rural households with Latino surnames. Results are based on 2,482 responses as well as 126 respondents who identified themselves as Spanish, Hispanic or Latino. Results are summarized in a report titled "Perceptions of Latin American Immigration Among Rural Nebraskans."

Although any survey has limitations due to the extent of the numbers of those who responded, a 22% response rate for Latino respondents compared to the 40% overall response rate "means we should be especially cautious about ascribing the views in the report to the Latino population as a whole," said Rebecca Vogt, long-time project manager of the Rural Poll.

Sixty-four percent of respondents said they're aware of recent Latin American immigrants living in their communities. Latinos' recent immigration patterns are reflected in regional differences: 73% of respondents in northeast and south central Nebraska, where meatpacking and other industries have drawn thousands of immigrants, said they're aware of recent Latin American immigrants living in their communities, compared to only 45% of those in north central Nebraska. Poll respondents expressed concern about what Latin American immigration means to their communities. Only 14% of respondents said Latin American immigration had been good for rural Nebraska, with 56% disagreeing. Among Latino respondents, 70% felt immigration had been good for communities, and 14% disagreed.

Ninety-four percent of respondents agreed that immigrants should learn to speak English within a reasonable amount of time. Eighty-two percent of Latino respondents also held that view. However, a significant split showed up on another language-related question: whether rural communities should communicate important information in Spanish as well as English. Only 20% of non-Latinos agreed with that statement, and 69% disagreed. Among Latino respondents, 76% felt important information should be communicated in both languages.

Carranza found the resistance to using Spanish troubling.

"Utilizing the mother tongue of the immigrant helps make a positive connection ... Language can be a bridge to becoming more integrated into a community," Carranza said. "To require people to sink or swim in terms of language will result in a few being successful, but many will sink."

Opinions are mixed on the reception Latin American immigrants receive in rural Nebraska. Twenty-eight percent of the non-Latinos said they believe rural communities do a lot to include immigrants; 23% disagreed. In contrast, only 22% of Latino respondents said rural communities do a lot to include immigrants; 46% of Latino respondents disagreed. Overall, 38% of all respondents said immigrants often are discriminated against in the state; 28% disagreed.

Latino respondents see things differently. Sixty-one percent said they believe Latin American immigrants suffer discrimination in rural Nebraska. "It seems that Nebraskans feel they're more welcoming to newcomers than newcomers feel they are welcomed," said Alan Tomkins, director of the University of Nebraska's Public Policy Center and part of the Rural Poll research team. "What we found when we asked about immigration was not dramatically different than what we found about Nebraskans in general who have been in their community for less than five years -- it is not especially easy to be a newcomer in a rural community," Tomkins added, referring to a Rural Poll report titled "Newcomers in Nebraska's Rural Communities" released in August.

The poll also asked a set of questions about federal and state immigration policy. Among those findings:

• Eighty-seven percent want government to tighten the borders to prevent illegal immigration, 77% support penalizing businesses that employ undocumented workers and 72% support deporting undocumented immigrants. On each of those questions, Latino respondents were less likely to support toughened policies. Forty-five percent of them supported tougher border enforcement, 30% supported penalizing businesses for employing undocumented workers and 26% supported deporting undocumented immigrants.
• Seventy-two percent opposed granting in-state college tuition to undocumented immigrants under the age of 21 who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years, while only 17% supported that idea. On a related issue, 56% opposed making citizenship available to that group of immigrants; 28% supported it. Here, too, Latino respondents' views differed. Fifty-seven percent supported the in-state tuition proposal, and 72% backed the citizenship plan. Nebraska's Legislature this year passed, over the governor's veto, LB239, which provides in-state tuition for young undocumented immigrants under some conditions.
• Fifty-six percent agreed that undocumented workers who have been working and paying taxes for five years should be allowed to apply for citizenship; 29% disagreed. Among Latino respondents, the percentages were 76% and 14%, respectively.
• About one-third of respondents supported a "guest worker" program that would allow immigrants to work in the U.S. without becoming citizens; 50% opposed that idea. Latino respondents were more likely to support this proposal – 58% to 2%. On this issue, respondents tended "to vote their perceived economic interest," said Randy Cantrell, a rural sociologist with the University's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and part of the Rural Poll team. For example, 58% of laborers, who might see undocumented workers as competitors for their jobs, were opposed to a guest worker program, compared to 40% of respondents in white collar jobs. In summing up the policy data, Tomkins said results suggest the majority of Nebraskans favor the amnesty policy that President Bush has endorsed, providing workers citizenship when they have contributed to the economy for a period of years and are otherwise "upstanding members of their communities." At the same time, Tomkins added, most rural Nebraskans agree with policies that prevent illegal immigration and do not want to extend benefits to those who have not already been a worker and taxpayer.

"This may explain the apparently paradoxical result of not favoring in-state tuition, giving school-aged children citizenship, or allowing families to come to the U.S. to join their working relatives," Tomkins said.

On many of the poll's questions, Latino respondents who have lived in rural Nebraska for more than five years have a different perspective than newer arrivals; their views tended to be closer to those of non-Latinos. "I paid my dues and therefore I expect you to pay your dues" is how Cantrell characterized this viewpoint.

The UNL researchers said Nebraskans concerned about declining rural populations would be well served to actively integrate new arrivals into their communities.

"They can be a lifeblood source of economic energy and opportunity for communities," Tomkins said.

Carranza said he found the resistance to educating young undocumented immigrants especially difficult to square with rural Nebraskans' concerns about their communities' viability.

"Some people see that as unearned, undeserved .... I see that as a wise investment," Carranza said. "These are people we should want to nurture and become productive members of our respective communities."

Cantrell cautioned against seeing Latin American immigration as an exclusively rural issue. "The growth of the Latino population is very pocketed in a very small number of fairly sizable communities," he said. "Most of them end up in Omaha and Lincoln -- just like most of us end up in Omaha and Lincoln -- and for the same reason: That's where the jobs are."

The successful integration of Latino immigrants into Nebraska depends as much on how they settle into the urban neighborhoods of Omaha as how they settle into Dawson or Madison counties, he added.

Cantrell said researchers plan to encourage further discussion of these issues early next year with a forum at the university as part of the Public Policy Center's Thomas C. Sorensen Policy Seminar Series. The Rural Poll is the largest annual poll of rural Nebraskans' perceptions on quality of life and policy issues. Complete results are available online at http://cari.unl.edu/ruralpoll/report06.shtml.The University's Center for Applied Rural Innovation conducts the poll in cooperation with the Rural Initiative and Public Policy Center with funding from the Partnership for Rural Nebraska and UNL Extension and the Agricultural Research Division in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Dan Moser
IANR News Service

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