CBS News poll: Hispanics in America

According to a new CBS News poll, the outlook of Hispanic Americans on their lives, their family’s future, and their opportunities in the U.S., is markedly optimistic.

And in what has been a bitterly-divisive election season, a majority of the American public thinks Hispanics have a positive influence on American culture -- both on society overall (51%) and on the country’s food (78%) and arts and entertainment (57%).

Like Americans overall, Hispanics think immigrants make the U.S. a better place (57%), and most support a path to citizenship for those who came here illegally (especially as children).

But unlike Americans overall, Hispanics place more importance on dealing with illegal immigrants in the U.S. over border security. Seventy-six percent of Hispanics, and 61% of the public overall, oppose building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

On the presidential candidates, 79% of Hispanics (compared to 56% of non-Hispanics) think Republican nominee Donald Trump is too harsh in his approach to illegal immigration, while most think Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s approach is about right.

Hispanics expect to see a Hispanic U.S. President in their lifetime, but for now they would like to see both parties -- but especially the Republican Party -- do more for Hispanics.

Hispanic Influence in the U.S.

Americans view Hispanics as having a positive impact on U.S. society: Fifty-one percent say the influence of Hispanics has been mostly good for America; only a few (just 13%) say it has been mostly bad.

Perhaps taking some pride in their heritage, Hispanics themselves are especially likely to say the impact of Hispanics on the U.S. has been good – 63 percent do.

Influence of Hispanics on U.S. Society:

Americans are inclined to say the influence of Hispanics on specific areas of society has also been more good than bad. Majorities see a positive impact in the cultural areas of the arts and entertainment and food, while about half say Hispanic influence on the economy and on moral and social values has been positive. Few think Hispanic influence in any of these areas has been bad.

Influence of Hispanics on ….

Hispanics themselves are even more likely to say the influence of Hispanics in each of these areas has been positive.

Influence of Hispanics Has Been Good on ….

Hispanics: Optimistic About Opportunity and the Future

Hispanics are generally optimistic about their opportunities to succeed, and the future for their family -- even more so than Americans overall.  Six in 10 Hispanics in the U.S. say their opportunities to succeed in life are better than those of their parents (compared to 44 percent of Americans overall).  

Compared to Your Parents, Your Opportunities to Succeed Are…

Hispanics are also optimistic about the future; 50% say their family’s future will be better than their life today, and just 26% think it will be worse.  This is in contrast to views among Americans more broadly, who express some pessimism about their family’s future compared to their lives today; 41% of Americans think the future will be worse.

Family’s Future Compared to Your Life Today:

Hispanics who were born outside the United States and Puerto Rico are more optimistic than those who are U.S. citizens about their opportunities to succeed as well as their family’s future.

Compared to Your Parents, Your Opportunities to Succeed Are …

Family’s Future Compared to Your Life Today:

Hispanics’ optimism extends to their own opportunities compared to those of other ethnic groups. Most Hispanics think they have the same chance or an even better chance to get ahead in America compared to other ethnic groups in the country. Their views are similar to the broader public overall.

Hispanics vs. Others on Getting Ahead in America:

Hispanics, along with Americans overall, believe in what many call the American Dream.  Seventy-three percent of Hispanics think it is still possible to start out poor in this country and become rich.

Possible to Start Poor and Become Rich in U.S.:

When it comes to personal finances, Hispanics describe their household similar to non-Hispanics and Americans overall. Fifty-two percent say their household income is just enough to pay their bills, while 30% have enough income to save and buy some extras.

Your Household Income:

Hispanics’ optimism about the future extends to politics as well. More than six in 10 Hispanics say they expect that the U.S. will have a Hispanic President in their lifetime.

Hispanic President in Your Lifetime?

But despite these rosy views of their family’s opportunities in the U.S., Hispanics acknowledge that the country is experiencing difficult times. When evaluating the country’s direction, most Hispanics -- like Americans overall -- say things in the U.S. are currently off on the wrong track, although they are less likely to say that than the broader American public.

Direction of Country:

Majorities of Hispanics -- and many Americans overall -- would like to see both major political parties do more for Hispanics, and that’s especially true when it comes to the Republican Party. Fully seven in 10 Hispanics want to see the Republican Party do more for them (compared to 54% of Americans); 59% want the Democratic Party to do more.

The Parties: Should They Do More for Hispanics?

Hispanics are more inclined to identify themselves as Democrats or Independents than as Republicans. Only 12% of Hispanics call themselves Republicans, while 39% say they are Democrats; Forty-nine percent are independents.

Views on Immigration

Half of Hispanics in this poll were born in another country, and nearly six in 10 Hispanics think that immigrants coming to the United States improve American society in the long run. Most Americans (53%) agree. 

In the Long Run, Immigrants Make the U.S. …

Most Americans don’t think illegal immigrants pose a threat to American jobs.  While 25% of Americans think illegal immigrants coming to the U.S. take jobs from Americans, far more -- 65% -- think they take jobs Americans don’t want. This view is shared by 85% of Hispanics and 62% of non-Hispanics.

Illegal Immigrants Coming to the U.S. …

Americans continue to support a path to citizenship for immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally. 59% of Americans think illegal immigrants living in the U.S. should be allowed to stay in the country and eventually apply for citizenship, rising to 75% among Hispanics. Just over a quarter of Americans (and only 8% of Hispanics) thinks illegal immigrants should be required to leave the U.S. 

Illegal Immigrants Living in the U.S. Should …

Americans are even more forgiving of illegal immigrants who came or were brought to the U.S. as children.  Nine in 10 Americans, including 95% of Hispanics and 89% of non-Hispanics, support a path to citizenship for those who came to the U.S. illegally as children if certain requirements are met.

Path to Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants Who Came to U.S. as Children?

But Hispanics differ from Americans overall on how to prioritize border security.  While 51% of Americans overall and most non-Hispanics think securing the nation’s border is more important than addressing the status of illegal immigrants, 59% of Hispanics think addressing the status of illegal immigrants should be the higher priority. 

Which Should be a Higher Priority?

Despite this, majorities of Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike disagree with one proposed solution to border security: building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.  Sixty-one percent of Americans overall oppose this idea, including 76% of Hispanics and 58% of Non-Hispanics.

Building a Wall Along the U.S.-Mexican Border:

Americans and Hispanics alike express clear -- and differing -- views on the two major party presidential candidates’ approach to illegal immigration.  Fifty-nine percent of Americans overall and 79% of Hispanics think that Donald Trump is too harsh in his approach to illegal immigration, while few say that about Hillary Clinton. Americans overall and Hispanics especially are more likely to think that Clinton’s approach is about right.

When They Talk About Illegal Immigration …

Other Issues

Hispanic Americans are more conservative than Americans overall all on two divisive social issues:  abortion and same-sex marriage.  Forty-two percent of Americans think abortion should be generally available in the United States, but this percentage drops to just 28% of Hispanics.  And while 24% of Americans overall think abortion should not be permitted, this rises to 41% among Hispanics.

Abortion Should Be …

Most Hispanics agree with Americans overall that same-sex marriage should be legal, but they do so by a smaller margin.  Sixty-two percent of Americans now think same-sex marriage should be legal in the United States, the highest percentage yet recorded in the CBS News Poll.  In contrast, this percentage drops to 55% (still a majority) of Hispanics.

Same-Sex Marriage Should Be …

Hispanics under age 30 are more likely than those who are older to say abortion should be generally available, and to say same-sex marriage should be legal.

On other issues, Hispanics break in a traditionally less conservative direction. When asked whether they prefer a smaller government providing fewer services or a bigger government providing more services, Hispanics choose a bigger government by two to one, while Americans overall are divided.

More Government Services vs. Smaller Government:

This divide is seen clearly in the debate over the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), passed into law in 2010. Fifty-one percent of Hispanics approve at least somewhat of the health care law passed in 2010, compared to just 42% of Americans overall. Forty-eight percent of Americans disapprove of the ACA, compared to 34% of Hispanics.

Views of the 2010 Affordable Care Act:

And by a wide margin, Hispanics (78%) are also more likely to approve of affirmative action programs that help minorities get ahead than are Americans overall (59%).  In this, they approve in a far greater percentage than white Americans (50%), but they are less supportive than blacks (91%).

Programs That Help Minorities Get Ahead:

Religion

Religion plays a slightly more important role in Hispanics’ lives than it does in the lives of Americans overall. Just one in 10 says it is not important at all to them, compared to one in five Americans overall.

Importance of Religion:

More Hispanics attend religious services every week than Americans overall.

Religious Service Attendance:

Fifty-two percent of Hispanics in the poll are Catholic, and views of their Church’s leader, Pope Francis, are more positive than negative.  While just over half of Hispanics are undecided or haven’t yet formed an opinion of the Pope, 35% have a favorable view of him, and just 9% are unfavorable.

Views of Pope Francis

This poll was conducted by telephone October 6-11, 2016  among 1,331 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, Pa.  Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. 

Additional interviews were conducted with Hispanics, to yield a sample size of 404.  The Hispanic oversample consisted of callbacks to Hispanic respondents who had previously completed a survey as part of a random sample, and interviews with respondents whose telephone numbers were likely to fall in high-incidence Hispanic areas on landline exchanges and cell phone rate centers.

The weighting of the Hispanic sample consisted of non-response corrections for the callback numbers (to account for systematic differences between those completing and those not completing the callback interview), and a weighting adjustment to ensure that Hispanics in high-incidence areas were not over-represented in the data.

The Hispanic and non-Hispanic samples were weighted separately to match their group’s population characteristics such as gender, age, education, region, marital status and phone use based on recent U.S. Census estimates. The samples were then combined in proportion to their size in the population., and weighted to standard parameters of the total U.S. adult population.

The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. The margin of error for the sample of Hispanics is 6 points and 4 points for Non-Hispanics. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish.  This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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