Last April, we asked whether immigrants were of benefit to the state or were a burden. 54 percent of respondents said benefit because of their hard work. 36 percent said burden because of their use of public services.
This month we asked again and got similar results. 51 percent said benefit and 41 said burden.
65 percent of Democrats said benefit, and 55 percent of Republicans said burden.
Whites were evenly split between benefit and burden; 64 percent of African Americans said benefit and 26 percent said burden.
Regardless, N.C. is getting a reputation as a state in which immigrants aren’t welcome. Gov. Pat McCrory vetoed a bill that was considered immigrant friendly; the state legislature wasted no time overturning his veto.
Meanwhile, immigration reform on the national level has seeped into local politics. Or rather, the stagnant legislation on the national level continues to gain attention locally.
— John Robinson
