As the debate on immigration reform rages on in Washington, new polls are indicating that more Americans are favoring stronger borders as a prerequisite to fixing the immigration system.
A new poll from Fox News released Monday showed that 84 percent of poll respondents wanted stronger security on the border, while only 13 percent were against it.
On the question of whether to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, provided they meet certain criteria such as learning to speak English and passing a background check, 72 percent of Fox voters were in favor of that measure while 25 percent voted against it.
Those numbers became more polarizing down the party lines. Republicans were more likely than Democrats, 92 percent to 77 percent, to favor measures that strengthen border security while 82 percent of Democrats would favor a pathway to citizenship--a 19-point difference from the 63 percent of Republicans who favor such a pathway for undocumented immigrants.
Fox's poll was conducted between February 25 and 27, with 1.010 randomly registered voters in landline and cell phone interviews.
However, a late February poll taken by Reuters/Ispos had a less favorable outlook on immigration, with 35 percent of those polled believing that most undocumented immigrants--with a few exceptions--should be deported while 23 percent voted to deport all illegal immigrants.
That same polls shows that 31 percent want most undocumented immigrants to stay while only five prevent believe that all illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the U.S. Among the party lines, 75 percent of Republicans told Reuters pollsters that all or most immigrants should be deported, while only 40 percent of Democrats stated the same.
According to Ipsos polltaker Julia Clark, these stats reflect that there hasn't been much dramatic change regarding the way most American's view immigration reform in the last few months, although Congress and President Obama have made it a top priority in the last month with two separate immigration bills proposed by the White House and by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators.
"It's not Americans' views that are shifting. It is that the political climate is ripe for this discussion," Clark said, referring to the support that Latino voters gave to President Obama during the November elections.
"Democrats feel that the time is right to capitalize on their wins and Republicans feel that they had a bad blow and are eager to reach out to Hispanics," she added.
The Reuters poll surveyed 1,443 people from February 15 through 18.
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