Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos. Registered Voters. MoE 3.1%. 2/11-2/13/11 (1/3-1/6/11).
If passed into law one version of immigration reform that people have discussed would secure the border and crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants. It would also require illegal immigrants to register for legal immigration status, pay back taxes, and learn English in order to be eligible for U.S. citizenship. Do you favor or oppose Congress passing this version of immigration reform?
Favor: 69 (68)
Oppose: 18 (21)
Not sure: 13 (11)
Those numbers are pretty emphatic, but what's even more remarkable is that every single demographic and ideological group in the survey would support immigration reform based on the principles outlined in the question. In fact, the right is more supportive of the approach than the left, presumably because it would require immigrants to pay back taxes and learn English before becoming eligible for citizenship.
The numbers are really striking: 80% of Republicans, 79% of tea partiers, and 78% of tea partiersconservatives favor this kind of immigration reform. 62% of Democrats, 51% of liberals, and 65% of tea party non-supporters favor it. So if what you're interested in is a bipartisan approach to immigration reform that would generate widespread support, this is the type of plan to pursue.