Political Effects of the Marches

What impact have the protest marches on behalf of immigrants had on the politics of immigration reform?

One Republican pollster reports that opinion has moved in the direction of tougher enforcement in recent weeks, and that by a 37 percent to 31 percent margin, the public trusts Republicans more than Democrats on the issue. A new Gallup poll also finds that most Americans favor making illegal immigration a crime. Some 81 percent say illegal immigration is “out of control.”

But attitudes are not as simple as those responses suggest. A CBS News poll found that three out of four people support offering legal status to undocumented immigrants if they been here at least five years, speak English, pay their back taxes and have no criminal history. An ABC News/Washington Post survey found that 50 percent of Americans trust Democrats more on this issue, with 38 percent putting greater faith in Republicans.

So it’s not clear either party can hope to exploit the issue for much advantage in November. The answers you get on immigration reform depend a lot on just how you word the questions. And many people may be of two minds.
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