Immigration has risen again to the top of the list of issues eliciting citizen engagement with Congress in July. The issue has dominated throughout the past three months, ranking number one in May and coming in third for June.
Data from the Congressional Conversation Index (CCI) shows that concern over immigration has risen by roughly 53% in the past month, presumably due to continuing debate over Arizona’s controversial immigration law (SB107). Representatives received an average of 145 recorded emails, letters or calls regarding the issue throughout the month of July.
The CCI is a monthly compilation, put together by DC-based firms Adfero Group and Fireside 21, of the top issues Congress hears about from their constituents. Last month, energy and the environment topped the charts due to the after-effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Numbers have decreased dramatically in recent weeks, as BP officials appear to have contained the spill. In July, the top issues in the CCI were (1) Immigration (2) Health Care (3) Abortion + Womens Issues (4) Tax (5) Energy (6) Financial Services (7) Labor (8) Animals (9) General Government Issues (10) Foreign Affairs. Full CCI data is available below.
