An overwhelming percentage of undocumented Hispanics would accept full background checks and other stipulations as a requirement for citizenship, a report from NBC Latino says.
According to a poll recently conducted by Latino Decisions, 93 percent said they would accept background checks as a requirement. Knowledge of how to read, write and speak basic English to obtain U.S. citizenship was accepted by 82 percent of Latinos.
Two-thirds of Latino undocumented immigrants are optimistic that immigration reform will pass this year and 87 said they would pursue citizenship, the poll found.
Stanford University professor and Latino Decisions principal Gary Segura said the group decided to poll immigrants themselves because their voices have been noticeably missing from the discussion.
Experts say the illusion that undocumented immigrants are an isolated community is false. In fact, most undocumented immigrants have “very deep roots” in the United States, Rosalind Gold, Senior Director of Policy, Research and Advocacy for NALEO, said.
“In our communities, they are making significant economic contributions, they are socially integrated, and want to continue on the path to becoming full Americans,” she said.
With 80 percent of undocumented immigrants being Hispanic, according to the Pew Hispanic enter, Latinos would be the most affected by immigration reform and a clear way to obtain citizenship.
Out of the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants, 8.6 million are Latinos who could see a 13-year pathway to citizenship under the reform.
(Photo by Elvert Barnes via Flickr)