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March 30, 2006Immigration & Opinion Polls
Sorry I haven't updated the journal lately. "What happened?", you might ask. (Go ahead, it's ok.) Well, I'm glad you asked. There's a very simple explanation for my unbloggedness (inblogicity? deblogsure?) during the past few days... Absolutely nothing interesting is happening here in Guatemala. Yeah, alright, so I'm lying. The truth is that all sorts of scary, fascinating, and exciting stuff is happening. Not surprisingly, much of that madness has overflowed into the hallowed halls of Incidencia Democratica. The end result: I'm up to my ears in busy. And as much as I love you (and you know I do) when the choice comes down to keeping you up-to-date on Guatemalan news or rejoicing in a few hours of precious sleep... well, sleep wins 7 times out of 10. I know, how selfish of me. Which makes me feel all the worse for this: I need your help! As you probably already know, the U.S. Senate is debating a controversial immigration bill that will impact, one way or another, the lives of millions upon millions of people. Coincidently my coworkers and I at IDEM are about to embark on our new project of public opinion polls. Next week ten fresh-faced volunteers will arrive for training, and on Friday will go door-to-door conducting a practice poll. Given current events, I suggested that our first "unofficial" poll cover the subject of immigration and the money that immigrants send back home to their families. We did a bit of brainstorming and came up with the following questions. The trick is that the survey has to have "closed" answers... that is to say that we have to create not only the questions, but envision the answers that people are most likely to give. Since you now know as much about opinion polling as I do, maybe you can help me out. Here are the questions, and the possible answers. I'd be exceedingly grateful for any suggestions, questions, changes, or ideas that you might have. Just add them in the comments section. Thanks! 1. How you ever traveled to the US or Canada to work? (yes; no) 2. How many times? (1,2,3,4,5 or more) 3. How many years, in total, did you live there? (1,2,3,4,5, 6-10, or 11-20 years) 4. Did you have a work visa? (yes; no; tourist visa) 5. If no, did you apply for a visa? (yes; no) 6. What persuaded you to work in the US or Canada? (There's no work here; I needed to earn more; I wanted to try my luck there; I was encouraged by a friend or family member; to get away from the violence; so I could open a business in Guate; other.) 7. Once there, were you able to send something back to your family members in Guatemala? (yes; no) 8. More or less how much each month? ($1-$99; $100-$200; $201-$300; $301-$400; more) 9. How did your family use the assistance you sent? (Food; clothes; repair/buy house; education; bills: gas, water, electricity; home appliances; pay off debt; other.) 10. Why did you return to Guatemala? (I prefer living here; I was deported; for family reasons; I couldn't take it anymore; I earned enough money; other) 11. Do you plan on returning to the US or Canada to work in the future? (yes; no; don't know) Questions 12-20 are basically the same, but would be asked of someone who has a family member currently living and working in the US or Canada. Obviously, because this is a "test run" for training purposes the questions are simple and few. But all of us at IDEM are very interested in the results, and are considering using this same topic for a later, full-fledged poll. Tags: Guatemala, Immigration, Opinion, Poll, News Posted by elcanche at March 30, 2006 09:46 PMComments
The questions are excellent, but what about "If" questions like: "If the U.S. enacted a guest worker program, would you be encouraged to apply to work in the U.S.?" or If the U.S. enacted a punitive immigration policy, would it deter you from working in the U.S.? Maybe, though, hypothetical questions aren't covered in polls. Posted by: Carol at March 31, 2006 11:39 AMHey! These are great questions! It would be great to hear about the results of the poll. Would you have any reason on your end to know if they paid taxes while in the U.S. or Canada? Selfishly, I would love to know if they received health care while in the U.S. People complain that immigrants are a "drain on the system" but forget that they are paying taxes and contributing more than we could possibly give up! Posted by: Susan at March 31, 2006 02:41 PMSusan, I couldn't agree with you more - in my case I have a family member who has been in the country illegally for 13 years - he had a 'fake social sec card' that someone sold him - what continues to amaze me is that for 13 years federal, ny & medicare has been taken out of his check - technically because he has no valid social sec # he can never fill out paperwork for a tax refund - and I personally know of many many people who are in the same predicament- |
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Hey everyone...
