The good folks at the Public Religion Research Institute have created a neat tool for exploring public opinion. Based on survey interviews with about 52,000 Americans, they have created the American Values Atlas. You can explore public opinion across the U.S. states on a range of issues — or, basically, a timesuck for public opinion nerds like me.
Consider the title of the post. The PRRI surveys asked this question:
How should the immigration system deal with immigrants who are currently living here in the U.S. illegally? The immigration should: allow them a way to become citizens provided they meet certain requirements; allow them to become permanent legal residents, but not citizens; or identify and deport them?
As the screenshot above shows, in every single state, at least 52 percent of respondents in every state, chose the first option — that is, a path to citizenship.
What is even more interesting is how poorly responses correlated with the traditional understanding of “red” and “blue” states. The states with the largest fractions support a citizenship include Delaware and Vermont but also Kansas and Utah. Californians and Texans, despite their very different politics, aren’t much different on this question.
You can read more highlights from the American Values Atlas here. And play with their data here.