Poll: Majority Oppose Obama’s Executive Amnesty, Support GOP Efforts to Block It

A new poll finds a majority of registered voters oppose President Obama’s executive amnesty and support the current Republican strategy to defund his actions.

The new Paragon Insights survey released this week found that 58 percent of registered voters oppose Obama’s executive actions, compared to 36 percent supporting them. The poll question highlighted the fact that the executive actions allow “four million undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation and seek jobs in the United States.”

Registered voters also largely approved of the Republican tactic of defunding the order, with 53 percent telling the pollsters they support “Republicans in Congress taking away federal funding for this executive order” and just 36 percent saying they oppose that.

Further, an overwhelming majority of registered voters said they would support legislation tightening regulations on hiring illegal immigrants — with 71 percent saying they would support such legislation compared to 21 percent who said they would oppose it.

The poll was conducted among 1,593 registered voters from January 22-25 and has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points. The survey crosstabs show further how widespread the opposition to the executive actions and support for efforts to block them and protect jobs are.

An aide to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a vocal leader among conservatives in the fight against amnesty, highlighted the poll as indicating the public’s desire to see Congress push back against the president’s actions and protect jobs and paychecks.

“Bottom line: the public is eager for a unified Republican Congress to step forward in defense of their jobs, wages, and laws,” the aide emailed. “A spirited public campaign to this effect would earn the support of the vast swath of the American people, particularly those voters most-impacted by Obama’s low-wage economy. Then the question would fall exclusively to Senate Democrats.”

Earlier this month, the House passed a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that blocks funding for Obama’s executive actions. The Senate is set to take up the appropriations fight next month, where the defund effort is expected to face a steep uphill climb.