Goucher Poll Reveals Marylanders' Position On National Issues
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- A new Goucher poll shows how Marylanders stand on issues of national debate.
The poll asks questions that are dominating national politics, including free speech, race, and immigration.
One of Donald Trump's first acts as president ignited protests in Maryland and around the country on the issue of immigration.
"In general, Marylanders are supportive of either a pathway to citizenship or a pathway to come sort of legal worker status," said Mileah Kromer, who directs the Filed Politics Center.
The Goucher poll, which measures opinions of Maryland residents, finds that 65 percent of Marylanders say undocumented immigrants should be given a path to citizenship if they meet certain requirements.
Twenty percent believe there should be a path to legal resident status, but not citizenship. Eleven percent think undocumented immigrants should be identified and deported.
"Only a small percentage of Marylanders are supportive of policies that focus on deportation," Kromer said. "The first thing when we think about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy is that the overwhelming majority of Marylanders support it."
Seventy-five percent of Marylanders support DACA, allowing those brought to the U.S. as children to have temporary legal status. Only 20 percent are opposed.
"This might be an opportunity especially with DACA for individuals to come together to find a solution for this one singular immigration issue," Kromer said.
The poll asked if police treat people of all races equally, 56 percent answered no.
"Fewer people agree now that police treat everybody equally in their communities than they did back in 2016. There's been a 10 percent drop among both whites and African Americans here in Maryland," Kromer said.
Forty-nine percent of Marylanders think Confederate statues should be removed. Forty-four percent disagreed.
Sixty-one percent also agreed that race relations in Maryland are worse now than in recent years.
The poll was conducted September 14 through 17, in the wake of the violence between white supremacists and counter protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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