New poll on Ohioans and illegal immigrants

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Government health benefits, schooling and driving privileges should not be given to illegal immigrants, a majority of Ohio voters said in a poll released Tuesday.

More than eight in 10 favored tougher penalties for illegal immigrants, opposed them having driver’s licenses and were against them receiving government health and welfare benefits, according to the Quinnipiac University survey.

Sixty-one percent said the children of illegal immigrants should not be allowed to attend public schools, and about the same percentage said a wall should be built between the U.S. and Mexico.
The poll questioned 1,231 Ohio voters by telephone between Nov. 6 and Sunday and has an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Three-quarters of Ohioans surveyed said that legal immigrants do more to help than hurt the country, while 67 percent said immigrants in the country illegally are hurting it.

Fifty-five percent said illegal immigrants should be able to work to apply for legal status, while 38 percent said they should be deported.

Full poll here