We all know that illegal immigration is a very intensely-debated, hot-button topic these days. At the risk of throwing even more fuel onto the fire, the Los Angeles Times reports that a new survey finds some harsh opinions against giving illegal immigrants certain benefits and social services, but with some contradictory findings as well:

One-third of Americans want to deny social services, including public schooling and emergency room healthcare, to illegal immigrants. . . . Still, in a sign of ambivalence among voters about the emotionally charged issue, a strong bipartisan majority -- 60% -- favors allowing illegal immigrants who have not committed crimes to become citizens if they pay fines, learn English and meet other requirements. . . .

Asked to pick from a list of issues what was a top priority for presidential candidates, 15% said illegal immigration -- the fifth-most mentioned topic behind the Iraq war, the economy, protecting the country from terrorist attacks and healthcare. Asked how much of a problem illegal immigration is, 81% of respondents said they considered it important, including 27% who said it was one of the country’s most pressing problems. . . .

Asked if illegal immigrants had made a positive or negative contribution to their community, 36% said negative, whereas 21% said positive and 29% said the effect was not discernible. When the same question was asked about legal immigrants, 12% said their contribution was negative, compared with 46% who said positive and 31% who saw no discernible effect. . . .

Respondents were divided about the best solution to the problem, but a strong majority expressed support for a proposal discussed in Congress -- part of a package backed by President Bush -- that would create a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the United States.

To be honest, I expected Americans to be much more negative and hostile towards illegal immigration than what appears to be the case from the results of the survey. Perhaps this perception of mine has to do with the fact that generally speaking, people on the extremes of an issue tend to be the most vocal.

At any rate, the results seem to indicate to me the following:

• Americans tend to see illegal immigration as a pretty important issue (not surprising)
• 36% of Americans think that illegal immigrants have a negative effect on their community (I actually thought that proportion would be higher, and actually think the 29% and 31% who think that illegal immigrants have a positive or no effect, respectively, are higher than I anticipated)
• A “strong majority” apparently support the comprehensive legislation that was defeated in Congress that would have given illegal immigrants a path to citizenship (again, you wouldn’t know that from the vitriolic opinions expressed in the media against such a plan)

In the end, I think the results of this survey goes to show that generally speaking, a plurality of American opinions on any particular issue are likely to be much more moderate than the opinions expressed in the media. In other words, the media does a very good job at sensationalizing issues and positions while doing a poor job at conveying what the “average” American thinks.