November 2016 | View the Poll Results (PDF)

The conventional wisdom that advocating enforcement of immigration laws is a deal-killer for Hispanic voters is just plain wrong. Immigration policy is less important to Hispanic voters than it is to the electorate generally when it comes to making voting decisions. These are among the key findings of an exit poll conducted by Zogby Analytics on behalf of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

The exit poll, conducted on Nov. 9-10, torpedoes dire warnings by Hispanic activist groups, open borders advocates, and political consultants that immigration is the determining factor for Hispanic voters and that this group of voters will not support candidates who favor immigration enforcement over amnesty.

Key Findings

Almost 4 in ten Hispanic voters favor “enforcing and strengthening laws against illegal immigration to encourage them to return home,” with 48.8 percent support allowing current illegal aliens “to become legal and remain in the country.”

Other polling data, particularly the findings of the Pew Hispanic Center, confirm that bread-and-butter issues like jobs, quality education, health care, and other issues are the primary motivating factors for Hispanic voters.