A bipartisan poll has found that voters overwhelmingly support comprehensive immigration reform.
Specifically, 71% of those polled are in favor of immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country, allows more high-skilled workers to enter, increases border security and creates an employment verification system. Two-thirds of swing voters polled also support such reforms.
A majority of voters support every key component in the bill, including a pathway to citizenship, with 64% in favor. An additional 66% support allowing more high-skilled workers to come in, while 81% support increased border security and 91% support employer verification.
The survey was conducted by Democratic polling firm Global Strategy Group and Republican polling firm Basswood Research, on behalf of FWD.us, the advocacy organization led by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and other technology executives.
There have been conflicting polls suggesting that support for immigration reform has waned in recent weeks. A Quinnipiac University survey released May 2 indicated that 52% of Americans support a pathway to citizenship, compared to 59% on April 4. Eleven percent thought that undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay but not be granted citizenship, while 30% thought they should not be able to stay at all. The rest were unsure or didn’t answer.
It’s important to note that these polls survey relatively small sample sizes of the population, so taking that into account, it’s not uncommon to have conflicting results.
The key takeaway is that immigration reform continues to be front and center and a hotly contested topic among the American public. With the Senate set to start marking up the bill this week, we need to keep the momentum going in support of commonsense immigration policy.
