Mirna Orellana, left, a community organizer from the non-profit group We Are Casa, helps Karyme Navarro, right, fill out a voter registration form in York, Pa. (AP Photo/Will Weissert)
As Pennsylvania’s Hispanic population continues to increase, voters in the state want the government to create better opportunities for immigrants to become U.S. citizens.
Pennsylvanians want to see solutions to immigration reform, such as creating a better path to citizenship, according to a new poll.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently conducted a poll among commonwealth voters that found they prefer solutions to immigration reform, as opposed to measures like building walls or increasing deportations.
According to the poll, 71% of Pennsylvanians want an immigration system that includes fair, orderly, and humane solutions that addresses challenges at the border while providing a roadmap to citizenship for long-term residents.
Immigration reform is an especially pertinent issue in the state, as Pennsylvania’s Latino population has been steadily increasing since 1970, more than doubling in size since 2000.
In 2023 in Pennsylvania, there were more than 1.1 million Hispanics/Latinos (of all racial backgrounds) in the state, representing 8.9% of the total population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau vintage data estimates.
Philadelphia County has the highest number of Hispanics/Latinos (244,555), followed by Berks County (109,612), and Lehigh County (108,152).
When it comes to the ratio of Hispanic to non-Hispanic population, Lehigh County had the highest percentage (28.63%), followed by Berks County (25.33%), and Monroe County (18.7%).
Seventy-six percent of residents also feel that the immigration system is broken and needs to be modernized, according to the poll. And 74% of Pennsylvanians agree that targeting immigrant families and children seeking safety doesn’t help make communities safer.
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