Immigration Reform 2013: New Poll Says Latinos Want Gay Couples Included In Immigration Reform Talks

A new poll indicates that nearly two-thirds of Latino voters want same-sex couples to be included as part of immigration reform in Washington.

According the a new poll conducted by Hispanic polling firm Latino Decisions, 64 percent of Latinos polled in the survey said they would support having same-sex partners be allowed to petition for legal residency in the U.S., while 24 percent opposed it. 

When asked how important it is that comprehensive immigration reform include lesbian and gay binational couples, 92 percent of those who expressed support for gay couples felt it was very or somewhat important to include same-sex couples in immigration reform talks. The line for support crossed faith lines, with 71 percent of Catholics, and 53 percent of Born-Again Christians supporting immigration reform.

The poll was conducted for Immigration Equality, a group advocating that same-sex couples be included in the debate on reforms to immigration.

Under the current laws, heterosexual Americans with foreign-born spouses can get green cards for their partners to keep them from being deported. However, those laws don't apply to Americans with foreign-born same-sex partners.

President Obama, in one of his recent speeches on immigration reform, spoke of the need to change the immigration system's policies, although Republicans have also come out against the idea of including same-sex couples into the discussed changes to the immigration system.

However, according to Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality, the latest poll indicates that Latinos want reform on immigration to include all families.

"Latino voters, like most voters, see family as family, whether gay or straight. These results underscore that an inclusive bill will have broad and deep support among people of faith," Tiven said in a statement.

"While some are using scare tactics about border security and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community to distract from common-sense reform, our poll shows those tactics are nothing more than fear mongering. Among those most committed to fixing our broken immigration system, LGBT families have overwhelming support," she added.

Tiven has other polls that back that claim.

November polls of Hispanic voters found that 59 percent, or six in 10 Latino voters, said that their states should recognize same-sex marriage while 32 percent voted against the idea.

However, two key Republican members of the bipartisan Senate group working on an immigration bill, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John McCain, R-Ariz., have said that including same-sex couples into the bill would derail the efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

"Which is more important: LGBT or border security?" McCain said at a Jan. 30 event hosted by Politico, as the Huffington Post reported. "I'll tell you what my priorities are. If you're going to load it up with social issues, that is the best way to derail it, in my view."