Slow down, safety director says, lives depend on it
June 18, 2013More talk, but no action on state’s TOPS changes
June 18, 2013Dear Editor,
Two weeks ago, veteran DC political handicapper Stuart Rothenberg of the “Rothenberg Political Report” said the Louisiana 2014 Senate race was a tossup, citing Louisiana’s rightward shift in recent years, the unpopularity of Obamacare and gun background checks, and the multiplying scandals that have tripped up the Obama Administration recently.
However, a poll of 1,000 likely Louisiana voters conducted by Pulse Opinion Research in April (error rate of 3 percent) shows that the issue of immigration reform may be another reason to make Incumbent Mary Landrieu worry. By wide margins, the “Gang of Eight” legislation that will provide up to seven million illegal workers with work permits is unpopular with Louisiana voters:
• 69 to 19 percent want full enforcement at the border and workplace before considering work permits.
• 65 to 32 percent are against giving work permits to an estimated 7 million illegal immigrant workers.
• 70 to 19 percent believe illegal immigrants will compete with less-educated Americans.
• 72 to 21 percent do not believe the US needs more immigrant workers.
• 68 to 23 percent do not believe the US is doing enough to fight illegal immigration.
• 63 percent think that protecting unemployed Americans from foreign-worker competition should be the government’s most urgent priority in setting immigration policy.
• 64 to 17 percent of respondents said they were more likely to vote for a political party that supports enforcing immigration laws first.
Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Landrieu voted to move the “Gang of Eight” legislation forward. It’s a risky political move. As the state’s working-class are faced with a 16 percent unemployment rate, the polling data shows that adding illegal immigrants to the talent pool before ensuring that enforcement at the border and workplace is secure could be an issue that does not escape the 2014 election cycle.
Interestingly, U.S. Sen. David Vitter is against the proposed immigration reform bill, standing with 60 percent of Louisiana voters.
Lt. Col. John LeBlanc,
Executive Director, Louisiana Highway Safety Commission
