A survey finds 59% of illegal immigrants want to stay in the country permanently. Only 27% expect to return to Mexico.

SERGIO BUSTOS
Citizen Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - A survey of mostly illegal Mexican immigrants found that a majority want to stay in the country permanently, but many more would be interested in signing up for temporary work permits even if it requires them to eventually return to Mexico.
The Pew Hispanic Center survey, which was released yesterday, found that 59 percent want to remain in the United States "as long as I can" or "for the rest of my life." Only 27 percent said they expected to return to Mexico within the next five years.

"The findings fall in line with what we see," Isabel Garcia, a lawyer and immigrant rights advocate in Tucson, told the Citizen. "It doesn't surprise me. People don't want to be living in fear and hiding. It makes for a very difficult life."

But the 59 percent statistic also shows that contrary to popular perception, "not all people want to stay," Garcia said. "But for the desperate situation back home, they'd prefer to be there."

The survey results didn't surprise Lorraine Lee of Chicanos Por La Causa in Tucson.

"Everyone wants to come to the United States for freedom and opportunity. It falls in line with the American dream," she told the Citizen.

Despite the desire to make the United States their home, most Mexicans - 71 percent - said they would participate in a temporary visa program that would force them to return home but allow them to legally work here and travel to and from Mexico.

A large majority, 79 percent, also said that their friends and family in Mexico would be willing to participate in a temporary worker program.

Considered the first of its kind to collect information from such a large group of illegal Mexican immigrants, the survey comes as President Bush and Congress are in a stalemate over how to deal with illegal immigration.

Roberto Suro, the study's author and the center's director, said the findings reflect a "conflict" among Mexicans who live in the United States.

"Some, especially younger Mexicans who recently arrived, might eagerly participate in a temporary (worker) program," he said. "Those with children or who have been here longer have intentions to stay here."

Suro said those interviewed were not asked specifically about their legal residency status, but that more than half acknowledged they did not have U.S.-government issued identification documents.

The typical Mexican interviewed was young, male and had arrived in the United States within the last five years. Most, 54 percent, said they spoke little or no English and most, 62 percent, said they earned less than $400 a week.

The survey is certain to drive further debate in Congress over the merits of Bush's controversial immigration plan.

Bush wants to create a guest-worker program to allow the country's estimated 8 million to 10 million illegal immigrants - almost 70 percent of whom come from Mexico - to obtain temporary work visas. But visa holders would not be given any preference in becoming permanent residents, the first step toward U.S. citizenship.

The proposal has drawn more critics than supporters in Congress. Most Democrats want to allow illegal immigrants to "earn" legal status by proving they hold a job and pay taxes. Many Republicans oppose anything that would grant permanent residency to those who broke the law entering the country.

The survey offers detractors and backers of Bush's plan plenty of evidence to make their case.

Critics said those with temporary visas would disappear into the shadows of U.S. society once their visas expire because so many expressed a desire to stay in the country with or without the government's permission."Anyone who thinks temporary workers will simply just go home are living an illusion," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports tougher enforcement of immigration laws.

Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, which supports less restrictive immigration laws, said the survey illustrates how "desperate people are to work here."

"It says to me that our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed," she said.

White House officials have long argued that most Mexicans have historically sought to work - not settle - in the United States.

Taylor Gross, a White House spokesman, said he would not comment directly about the survey. But, he said, "the president recognizes the need for real immigration reform and he appreciates support for his proposals."

Citizen Staff Writer Claudine LoMonaco contributed to this article.

ABOUT THE SURVEY

Pew Hispanic Center researchers spoke to 4,836 Mexican adults who showed up at Mexican consulate offices in seven U.S. cities to apply for a Mexican-government issued identification card known as a matricula consular. All Mexican citizens living abroad are eligible for the cards, which verify their citizenship status to consular officials.

The selected cities were Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Raleigh, N.C., and Fresno, Calif.

The interviews were done between July 2004 and January 2005. Researchers got the cooperation of the Mexican government to conduct its interviews, but Mexican authorities were not involved in any aspect of the survey. There was no margin of error for the survey because the results are not based on a random sample and were not weighted; they're simply the raw data.