Virtually all of the GOP’s top-tier potential candidates for president in 2016—Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul—are supporters of immigration reform. For whoever runs, Florida will be a crucial, must-win state. And Florida supports immigration reform too.
A new poll released this week by the Public Policy Institute, and commissioned by the Florida New Majority and Project New America, found that over two-thirds of Florida voters believed that immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship was either “somewhat important” or “very important.” Forty nine percent of those surveyed also said they were more likely to support a pro-immigration reform candidate over one who opposed reform.
As Elbert Garcia, Communications Director of the Florida New Majority said:
These numbers confirm what so many grassroots leaders know – that a great majority of Floridians believe our immigration system should keep families together and provide a path to citizenship.
Here are some other highlights of the poll:
- A majority (51%) of Floridians want Congress to pass immigration reform in 2013.
- Two-thirds (67%) support an UAFA-type provision that would let the US immigration system keep “families together regardless of sexual orientation.”
- The poll also breaks down support for immigration reform in four key GOP Congressional Districts: Daniel Webster (FL-10), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Dennis Ross (FL-15), and Tom Rooney (FL-17).
As Melissa McGuire-Maniau, an Orlando-area Puerto Rican mother of three who has fought to keep her husband in this country, said during on a press call announcing the poll:
Having lived and worked in Congressional District 10, the poll results are not surprising to me. As a US Citizen, veteran, and registered voter, along with many constituents from District 10, we expect Congressman Webster to do the right thing on this issue. The poll clearly shows that his constituents want him to be a part of the solution and help pass immigration reform with a path to citizenship NOW.
View the full poll results memo and the survey questions, and listen to a recording of the press call here.
