"Americans Talk About Illegal Immigration" part 3

I hope to wrap up my discussion of this poll's final report with this 3rd (and hopefully final) blog. The third section of this final report deals with the approval of methods to deal with illegal immigration. All in all, this section pretty much states that the majority of Americans feel that tough measures need to be taken when dealing with an illegal immigrant. I feel that this section expressed that most Americans feel that the measures taken currently are not "tough" or "strict" enough. The fourth section is titled "Views Regarding the Role State and Local Governments Should Play in Thwarting Illegal Immigration". This title, being as long as it is, is fairly self-explanatory. When a state or local government determines that an immigrant is here illegally, 88% of Americans agree, and 68% strongly agree that Congress should pass a law requiring those governments to contact the INS and law enforcement. The findings were almost exact when asked if state and local govt's should be legally obligated to turn those determined to be illegal immigrants into the INS. The next section dealt with penalties for offering false identification. Most Americans feel that a person should be obligated to offer legal documentation proving that they are either legal citizens or have a lawful presence in this country when doing most things. One point I found amazing was that just short of the majority of Americans (49%) feel that you should have to go through a verification check when seeking medical care at a hospital. I personally find this outrageous and, for lack of a better word, selfish. Most hospital visits, no matter if the person is a legal citizen or an illegal alien, do not allow for "verification checks", and other outlandish ideas. The last section hits on a very important issue; the "Views Toward Employers and Illegal Immigration". A large majority of people feel that an employer, whom has been repeatedly fined and still continues to knowingly employ illegal immigrants, should face criminal charges and penalties. (87% agree while 69% strongly agree). What I personally found amazing was the fact that more Americans felt that employers should be punished for employing illegal immigrants than they felt that employers should be required to verify U.S. citizenship for each job applicant (79% agree, 58% strongly agree). This, to me, shows that many Americans do not understand that verifying a persons U.S. citizenship at the application level of hiring would aid immensely in trying to "weed out" those employed who are residing here illegally.