Most Americans favor a way for undocumented immigrants to obtain to legal status, according to a recent poll by ABC News and the Washington Post.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they would support a program that gives undocumented immigrants in the right to live here legally if they pay a fine and meet other requirements, while 39 percent would oppose such a program. On the political front, immigration has become a top priority for the next members of the United States Congress, according to a recent ABC News article.
Immigration became a big item because of a spike in Latino support for President Barack Obama this election season, according to the article.
Exit polls showed Latino voters turned out in record numbers for Obama, overshadowing support for Republican Mitt Romney at 71 percent and 27 percent, respectively. According to the poll, 82 percent of Latinos said favor a pathway to legal status, compared to 17 percent who don’t. Seventy-four percent of Latino voters said they support earned legal status.
Whites who backed a path to legal status made up 51 percent of poll respondents, compared to 45 percent who didn’t. Sixty-nine percent of all those polled between the ages of 18 and 29 support legal status compared to 47 percent of people age 65 and older.
