President Obama announced executive action about how the U.S. would enforce immigration law on November 20, 2014. Reactions were far-ranging, often contradictory. We asked a panel of 39 immigration policy experts to review 20 different statements about Obama’s executive action. While just a third of respondents think the policies are unconstitutional, reactions to the way it was handled were strongly negative.
Only a third of respondents thought the action was necessary given legislative inaction, but just 23 percent said it was overdue while 15 percent said it was premature. In short, the panel doesn’t agree with comments critical of the timing. The affiliation of surveyed experts is split equally among Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. However, the panelists tend to be economists who are generally in favor of greater levels of immigration.
For the full list of surveyed experts, click here.
