Big time immigration supporters such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have been noticeably silent in their support for immigration reform as Election Day approaches.
In 2013, Zuckerberg and Bloomberg spent millions raising money and awareness for immigration reform – particularly to increase the number of H-1B work visas available for skilled workers. Their support (and money) could be seen in television and print ads well into early 2014. However, now that House elections are approaching it appears that their support is dwindling (or at least taking a back seat).
Immigration reform has become unpopular for Americans on both sides of the political spectrum. It appears that Zuckerberg and Bloomberg have take note of this and toned down their own support. Zuckerberg’s company, FWD.us, which was created to push access to more foreign labor, has no pro-immigration ads scheduled for this fall.
Charlie Spies of Republicans for Immigration Reform believes that President Obama is to blame. He recently said, “The problem at the border and the president’s rhetoric on executive action have totally poisoned the well. I don’t think anybody believes anything can happen this year.”
Recent polls have shown that the American voter is not primarily concerned with immigration reform. In fact, an overwhelmingly number of US voters oppose immigration reform all together. This is true for both Democrat and Republican voters.
A recent poll found that 81% of voters support immigration policies that protect US workers from losing their job to immigrant workers who can perform the same job. The poll also found that many Americans support enforcement of current immigration laws, repatriation of illegal immigrants and limiting the use of executive action by the president to legalize immigrants.