Rasmussen Poll Shows 2:1 Support for ‘Hire American’ over ‘Business First’

The swing voters who will decide the 2020 election oppose by 2:1 the inflow and hiring of more foreign workers amid the coronavirus crash, according to a May 20-21 poll of 1,250 likely voters by Rasmussen Reports.

Fifty-nine percent of swing voting “moderate” voters and 56 percent of non-GOP, non-Democrat “other” voters agree that it would be “Better for businesses to raise the pay and try harder to recruit non-working Americans even if it causes prices to rise,” the poll says.

In contrast, just 27 percent of moderates and 20 percent of “others” told Rasmussen that it would be “Better for the government to bring in new foreign workers to help keep business costs and prices down.”

The poll arrives as President Donald Trump huddles with his advisers to draft curbs on a variety of visa programs. Trump’s curbs might free up many jobs for the many American graduates who face unemployment and poverty because of the Chinese coronavirus. However, many of Trump’s deputies put business priorities first and so favor the inflow of cheap labor for companies and investors.

Rasmussen also showed that Trump’s rhetoric of “Hire American First” policy is also supported by 73 percent of Republicans and conservatives. Just 16 percent of Republican and conservative voters agree with the business pro-migration strategy.

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Rasmussen asked, “Should Congress increase the number of foreign workers taking higher-skill U.S. jobs or does the country already have enough talented people to train and recruit for most of those jobs?”

Sixty percent of swing-voting “other” and 58 percent of “moderate” likely voters sided with the “Hire American First” pitch by saying, “The country already has enough talented people to train and recruit for most of those jobs.”

Just 23 percent of “other” and 28 percent of “moderates” called for the government to “Increase the number of foreign workers taking higher-skill U.S. jobs.”

But more respondents gave “not sure” answers to the “High Skill” question, suggesting a hidden reserve of “Hire American” voters.

The poll showed that 72 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of conservatives said the country “has enough talented people.” Just 19 percent of Republicans and 23 percent of conservatives urged the government to “increase the number of foreign workers.”

The “Hire American First” option is also strongly supported by two demographics where Trump needs more voters — graduates and suburbanites.

Notably, the poll shows that college graduates want to put American workers first. They responded 56 percent to 31 percent against importing more skilled workers. Suburbanites responded similarly, 59 percent against more skilled workers, and 25 percent in favor of more foreign workers.
The same “Hire American First” skew was also seen in the “raise the pay” question, where graduates split 63 percent to 23 percent, and suburbanites split 64 percent to 2o percent.

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Thirty-nine percent of Democrats said they would “increase the number of foreign workers taking higher-skill U.S. jobs.” (46 percent opposed)

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