{
  "alt": "Table with one row per immigration question and columns for survey, item, wording, answers, years and the restrictive answer counted. It lists the ANES questions on the number of immigrants and the feeling thermometers, the GSS items, nine CES policy items with their year-specific wording, four Nationscape items and ten items from the 2024 ANES.",
  "caption": "The surveys differ in the number of answers, in whether an item names a policy or a group and in the stem that introduces it, so levels are not comparable across surveys. Each row gives the wording as the survey or its documentation words it; where only the file label is available the row says so.",
  "data": [
    {
      "answers": "Five answers; the 2000 study is coded to three (increased, same, decreased)",
      "counted": "Decreased, a little or a lot",
      "item": "Number of immigrants (VCF0879, VCF0879a)",
      "survey": "ANES cumulative file",
      "wording": "Do you think the number of immigrants from foreign countries who are permitted to come to the United States to live should be increased a lot, increased a little, left the same as it is now, decreased a little, or decreased a lot?",
      "years": "1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "0 (cold) to 100 (warm)",
      "counted": "Mean rating",
      "item": "Feeling thermometer, illegal immigrants (therm_illegal_aliens, from VCF0233)",
      "survey": "ANES cumulative file",
      "wording": "Rating of illegal aliens (cumulative file label) or illegal immigrants (2020 and 2024 studies); the cleaned file recodes the cumulative code 97, which stands for 97 to 100 degrees, to 100",
      "years": "1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "0 (cold) to 100 (warm)",
      "counted": "Mean rating",
      "item": "Feeling thermometer, Hispanics (therm_hispanics, from VCF0217)",
      "survey": "ANES cumulative file",
      "wording": "Rating of Hispanics (file label: Chicanos or Hispanics); the cleaned file recodes the code 97 to 100 as above",
      "years": "1988, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Five answers",
      "counted": "Reduced, a little or a lot",
      "item": "Number of immigrants, form used from 2004 (letin1a)",
      "survey": "GSS",
      "wording": "Number of immigrants nowadays should be: increased a lot, increased a little, remain the same as it is, reduced a little, reduced a lot (file label and answers; the stem is not checked)",
      "years": "2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Five answers",
      "counted": "Decreased or reduced, a little or a lot",
      "item": "Number of immigrants, earlier forms (letin, letin1)",
      "survey": "GSS",
      "wording": "letin: increase or decrease immigrants to the US (left the same as it is now); letin1: Do you think the number of immigrants to America nowadays should be increased a lot, increased a little, remain the same as it is, reduced a little, or reduced a lot? (the ARDA documentation of the GSS item)",
      "years": "letin 1994 and 2000; letin1 1996, 2004, 2014, 2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Agree strongly, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, disagree strongly",
      "counted": "Agree or agree strongly",
      "item": "Immigrants take jobs away (immjobs, file label)",
      "survey": "GSS",
      "wording": "Immigrants take jobs away from people born in America (file label: immigrants take jobs away)",
      "years": "1996, 2004, 2014, 2022, 2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Agree strongly, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, disagree strongly",
      "counted": "Agree or agree strongly",
      "item": "Immigrants increase crime rates (immcrime, file label)",
      "survey": "GSS",
      "wording": "Immigrants increase crime rates (file label)",
      "years": "1996, 2004, 2014, 2022, 2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Agree strongly, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, disagree strongly",
      "counted": "Disagree or disagree strongly",
      "item": "Immigrants good for America (immameco, file label)",
      "survey": "GSS",
      "wording": "Immigrants are good for America's economy (file label: immigrants good for america)",
      "years": "1996, 2004, 2014, 2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Check each item that applies",
      "counted": "Item checked (support) or not checked (oppose)",
      "item": "Stem, 2007 to 2017",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "What do you think the U.S. government should do about immigration? Select all that apply. (The 2007 stem names Congress and the President; the 2014 stem says the government.)",
      "years": "2007 to 2017"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Support or oppose each item",
      "counted": "Support or oppose each item",
      "item": "Stem, 2018",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "What do you think the U.S. government should do about immigration? Do you support or oppose each of the following? (The guide lists no stem for 2019 to 2021.)",
      "years": "2018 to 2021"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Support, oppose",
      "counted": "Support",
      "item": "More border patrols (immig_border)",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "Increase the number of border patrols on the U.S.-Mexican border (2011: increase border presence; 2014: increase Border Patrols along the US-Mexico border)",
      "years": "2007, 2010 to 2017, 2019 to 2021"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Support, oppose",
      "counted": "Oppose",
      "item": "Legal status for long-term residents (immig_legalize)",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "Grant legal status to all illegal immigrants who have held jobs and paid taxes for at least 3 years, and not been convicted of any felony crimes (2011: amnesty for long term residents)",
      "years": "2007, 2010 to 2017, 2019 to 2021"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Support, oppose",
      "counted": "Support",
      "item": "Fines for employers (immig_employer)",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "Fine U.S. businesses that hire illegal immigrants (2010: fine businesses)",
      "years": "2007, 2010, 2012 to 2017"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Support, oppose",
      "counted": "Support",
      "item": "Police questioning (immig_police)",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "Allow police to question anyone they think may be in the country illegally (2011: police question those reasonably suspected of being illegal)",
      "years": "2010 to 2015, 2017"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Support, oppose",
      "counted": "Support",
      "item": "Identify and deport (immig_deport)",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "Identify and deport illegal immigrants",
      "years": "2014 to 2017"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Support, oppose",
      "counted": "Support",
      "item": "Bar services (immig_services)",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "Prohibit illegal immigrants from using emergency hospital care and public schools",
      "years": "2012, 2013"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Support, oppose",
      "counted": "Support",
      "item": "Reduce legal immigration (immig_reduce)",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "2018: reduce legal immigration by eliminating the visa lottery and ending family-based migration; 2019: reduce legal immigration by 50 percent; 2020: reduce legal immigration by 50 percent over the next 10 years by eliminating the visa lottery and ending family-based migration",
      "years": "2018 to 2020"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Support, oppose",
      "counted": "Support",
      "item": "Police must report (immig_report)",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "2017: require local police departments to report to the federal government anyone they identify as an illegal immigrant; 2018 to 2021: withhold federal funds from any local police department that does not report to the federal government anyone they identify as an illegal immigrant",
      "years": "2017 to 2021"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Support, oppose",
      "counted": "Support",
      "item": "Border wall (immig_wall)",
      "survey": "CES",
      "wording": "2017 and 2021: build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico; 2018 and 2020: increase spending on border security by 25 billion dollars, including building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico",
      "years": "2017, 2018, 2020, 2021"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Agree, disagree, not sure",
      "counted": "Agree, or disagree for the path to citizenship items",
      "item": "Stem",
      "survey": "Nationscape",
      "wording": "We'd like to know whether you agree or disagree with each of the following policies:",
      "years": "July 2019 to February 2021"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Agree, disagree, not sure",
      "counted": "Agree",
      "item": "Border wall (wall)",
      "survey": "Nationscape",
      "wording": "Build a wall on the southern US border",
      "years": "Every week, July 2019 to December 2020"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Agree, disagree, not sure",
      "counted": "Agree",
      "item": "Deportation (deportation)",
      "survey": "Nationscape",
      "wording": "Deport all undocumented immigrants",
      "years": "Every week, July 2019 to December 2020"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Agree, disagree, not sure",
      "counted": "Disagree",
      "item": "Path to citizenship for all (path_to_citizenship)",
      "survey": "Nationscape",
      "wording": "Create a path to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants",
      "years": "Every week, July 2019 to December 2020"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Agree, disagree, not sure",
      "counted": "Disagree",
      "item": "Path for those brought as children (dreamers)",
      "survey": "Nationscape",
      "wording": "Create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought here as children",
      "years": "Every week, July 2019 to December 2020"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Favor, oppose, neither favor nor oppose",
      "counted": "Favor",
      "item": "Border wall (V241393)",
      "survey": "ANES 2024",
      "wording": "Favor or oppose building a wall on border with Mexico (file label)",
      "years": "2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Favor, oppose, neither favor nor oppose",
      "counted": "Favor ending it",
      "item": "Birthright citizenship (V241387)",
      "survey": "ANES 2024",
      "wording": "Favor or oppose ending birthright citizenship (file label)",
      "years": "2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Should be sent back; should be allowed to live and work in the US",
      "counted": "Should be sent back",
      "item": "Children brought illegally (V241390)",
      "survey": "ANES 2024",
      "wording": "Should children brought illegally be sent back or allowed to stay (file label)",
      "years": "2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Make felons and send them back; guest worker program; remain and qualify for citizenship if requirements are met; remain and qualify for citizenship without penalties",
      "counted": "Make felons and send them back",
      "item": "Policy toward unauthorized immigrants (V241386)",
      "survey": "ANES 2024",
      "wording": "US government policy toward unauthorized immigrants (file label)",
      "years": "2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Favor, oppose, neither favor nor oppose",
      "counted": "Oppose",
      "item": "Path to citizenship (V242232)",
      "survey": "ANES 2024",
      "wording": "Favor or oppose providing path to citizenship (file label)",
      "years": "2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Increased a lot, increased a little, left the same as it is now, decreased a little, decreased a lot",
      "counted": "Decreased, a little or a lot",
      "item": "Immigration levels (V242227)",
      "survey": "ANES 2024",
      "wording": "What should immigration levels be (file label)",
      "years": "2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Increase, decrease, have no effect",
      "counted": "Increase",
      "item": "Illegal immigration and crime (V242229)",
      "survey": "ANES 2024",
      "wording": "Effect of illegal immigration on crime rate (file label)",
      "years": "2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Extremely likely, very likely, somewhat likely, not at all likely",
      "counted": "Extremely or very likely",
      "item": "Immigration and jobs (V242228)",
      "survey": "ANES 2024",
      "wording": "How likely immigration will take away jobs (file label)",
      "years": "2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Seven answers from extremely good to extremely bad",
      "counted": "Slightly, moderately or extremely bad",
      "item": "Immigrants and the economy (V242235)",
      "survey": "ANES 2024",
      "wording": "Are immigrants generally good or bad for America's economy (file label)",
      "years": "2024"
    },
    {
      "answers": "Five answers from not at all important to extremely important",
      "counted": "Very or extremely important",
      "item": "Adapting to customs (V242236)",
      "survey": "ANES 2024",
      "wording": "How important is it for immigrants to adapt to customs and traditions of the US (file label)",
      "years": "2024"
    }
  ],
  "id": "wording",
  "notes": [
    "The ANES wording is as documented for the 2000, 2004 and 2008 studies; small wording differences in other studies are noted in the ANES cumulative file documentation and are not tested here.",
    "CES wording is quoted from the guide to the Cumulative CES Policy Preferences file; the file's own item labels are shorter. Nationscape wording is from the week 1 codebook. ANES 2024 rows give the file label because the full question text was not checked.",
    "Each item's restrictive answer is the one counted in every figure. The CES wording changes by year for the border patrol, legal status, police questioning, fines, reduce, report and wall items as shown."
  ],
  "source": "ANES Cumulative Data File and 2024 Time Series, General Social Survey, CES cumulative policy preferences guide and Nationscape codebook; question wording only, no weights apply",
  "spec": {
    "columns": [
      {
        "key": "survey",
        "label": "Survey"
      },
      {
        "key": "item",
        "label": "Item"
      },
      {
        "key": "wording",
        "label": "Question wording or file label"
      },
      {
        "key": "answers",
        "label": "Answers"
      },
      {
        "key": "years",
        "label": "Years used"
      },
      {
        "key": "counted",
        "label": "Restrictive answer counted"
      }
    ]
  },
  "subtitle": "Question wording or file label, answers offered, years used and the restrictive answer counted, by survey and item",
  "title": "Each survey asks about immigration in its own words and on its own scale",
  "type": "table",
  "width": "wide"
}