Angus Reid Public Opinion, December 20, 2011

Three-in-five respondents believe illegal immigrants who are currently working should be required to leave their jobs and be deported.

A feeling of animosity towards both legal and illegal immigrants has exacerbated in Britain, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative sample of 2,006 adults, 69 per cent of respondents think immigration is having a negative effect on the UK.

Seven-in-ten Britons (72%) would like to decrease the number of legal immigrants who are allowed to relocate in the United Kingdom. A majority of respondents in all three age groups agree with this course of action, including 52 per cent of those aged 18-to-34.

Illegal immigration remains a concern for respondents as well, with 58 per cent of Britons (+4 since 2009) saying that these immigrants take jobs away from UK workers, and 61 per cent calling for their deportation. Only one-in-five respondents (20%) would consent to a system that would allow illegal immigrants to work in the UK on temporary basis, but without becoming citizens.

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