AAPI adults more likely to view legal immigration as asset to US: Survey

Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults are more likely than the rest of the U.S. population to view immigration as an asset to the country, a new survey found.

According to the survey, released Monday by AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs, about 80 percent of AAPI adults say legal immigration to the U.S. a “major benefit” that contributes to economic growth.

By comparison, just 42 percent of U.S. adults overall say immigrants contribute to economic growth.

AAPI adults were more likely to be favorable about other aspects of immigration, too.

Sixty-one percent of AAPI adults say immigrants enrich American culture and values while 38 percent of the overall population says the same.

And more than 50 percent of AAPI adults say immigrants take jobs Americans don’t want compared to 35 percent of the general population who agrees.

AAPI adults were also much more likely to say immigrants provide American companies with the expertise of skilled workers in science and technology fields.

AAPI adults, however, were much less likely to say the country is benefitting from immigrants who arrive in the country illegally when asked the same questions.

The survey was released just before the 2024 presidential election, where immigration is a main focus as former President Trump seeks to criticize Vice President Harris over the Biden administration’s response to the influx of migrants arriving at the country’s southern border in recent years.

The new poll was conducted Sept. 3-9 among 1,123 AAPI Americans. The margin of error for all respondents is 4.7 percentage points.