Sixty percent of Republicans are in favor of passing the Senate immigration bill, according to a new poll from the National Journal. The Senate legislation includes offering a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants (around 11 million) who already live in the United States, an aspect that has proven controversial with many vocal Republicans.
The poll says that 18% of Republicans want to pass the existing bill, with the number increasing to 42% with the addition of tougher border security provisions. Around 32% want to do nothing with the immigration issue or will only pass it if the citizenship path is withdrawn from the legislation.
The national response, irrespective of political party, suggests that 59% want the current Senate bill to be passed, while only 13% of Americans are against the legislation including the offer of a pathway to US citizenship, the National Journal claims. The poll differed from some similar polls by offering more options rather than just for or against immigration reform and the statistics would appear to indicate that the great majority of Republicans want immigration to be dealt with by Congress.
Proof that the House may be listening to their voters seems to have come from Speaker John Boehner’s comments over the prospect of coming to an agreement over the immigration issue, with Politico claiming that he believes legislation will pass the House prior to Congress dealing with the problem of the debt ceiling.