Pew Study: Yay, Canada… Nay, Mexico

Jan 2, 2014
9:56 AM

So earlier this week, the folks at Pew Research published findings of a fall study it ran about how Americans view other countries. The results, sadly, did not surprise us.

According to the survey, Canada tops the list with an 81% favorability rating, followed closely by Great Britain (79%) and Japan (70%).

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In the bottom four?

Mexico with a 39% favorability, followed by China (33%), Russia (32%) and Saudi Arabia (27%).

And you wonder why we are constantly fed the notion in the mass media that Mexico = BAD while Canada = AWESOME?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that such perceptions matter, even though (wait for it), an overwhelming majority of Mexicans contribute more to this country’s economy and society than Canadians. Want proof? Check out the Department of Homeland Security non-immigrant admissions numbers from 2012. As defined by DHS, “nonimmigrants are foreign nationals granted temporary admission into the United States. The major purposes for which nonimmigrant admission may be authorized include temporary visits for business or pleasure, academic or vocational study, temporary employment, or to act as a representative of a foreign government or international organization.”

NonImmigrant

So in 2012, 16,462,118 Mexicans were admitted into this country, as compared to 1,466,120 Canadians.

But most Americans see this as a bad thing? Got it. We wonder if it has anything to do with ideological leanings. Oh, look, it does, as Pew also reports when it breaks down the numbers by political affiliation:

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So, 83% of Republicans love Canada but only 30% of them really dig Mexico.