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Approximately 3 in 4 Americans Support Path to Citizenship and Want Immigration Solutions

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pew research immigrationNew polling shows that by a 3:1 margin, Americans want a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. This confirms that Republicans are blocking the solutions that the American people want. 

The timing is interesting. Released one day before President Obama gives a major speech on immigration at the U.S./Mexico border, this new poll from Pew Research Center underscores that Americans are well ahead of some in Washington when it comes to understanding how to fix the broken immigration system. 

The poll finds overwhelming 72%-24% support for a path to legal citizenship for the undocumented, “provided they pass background checks, pay fines and have jobs.” For you more visual folk, that’s approximately three out of four Americans who believe in a path toward citizenship.

Pew divided voters into eight distinct subgroups, and support for the path to legal citizenship was at least 58% among seven of the eight subgroups. The eighth, which was the “staunch conservatives” subgroup, was split 49%-49% on the topic.

Yet many Republicans in Congress, led by Representatives Lamar Smith (TX), Elton Gallegly (CA) and Steve King (IA) continue to push for enforcement-only approaches or hide behind the empty “border security first” argument. However, the public understands that a lasting and workable version of immigration reform must also include a path to legal citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people living in our nation, once again showing that Republicans are almost clueless on what the average American thinks or wants.

Clearly, Republicans in Congress are on the wrong path, and this poll provides more evidence of it.