A new poll shows that a majority of registered Hispanic voters believe any immigration legislation that becomes law should deal with border security and interior immigration law enforcement before legalization of America’s at least 11 million illegal aliens begins.
“Among all Hispanics, six in ten, 60%, support granting legal status to those already here only when the 90% goal is reached; 32% oppose,” GOP pollster John McLaughlin’s group said in a release. “Among Hispanic voters, 60% support, 34% oppose.”
The “90% goal” McLaughlin’s group is referencing is the target of ending 90 percent of current illegal immigration through border security and interior enforcement.
The McLaughlin poll also found that Hispanics oppose giving illegal aliens access to federal benefits, including Obamacare, “while they are going through the legalization process and before the 90% goal is reached” at a 56 to 40 percent margin. The registered Hispanic voters polled also considered “immigration reform” the lowest priority of four issues when asked whether immigration, the economy, education, or health care is most important to them.
The National Review‘s Andrew Stiles noted too that the McLaughlin poll found, “Generally speaking, registered Hispanic voters were far more likely to support tougher security and enforcement measures than non-registered voters. For example, 64 percent of registered voters said they supported employment verification to determine if job applicants are lawful residents, compared with just 46 percent of non-registered voters.”
“Additionally, 55 percent of registered voters backed increased border-security measures (fencing, drones, police, etc.), compared with 45 percent of non-registered voters,” Stiles wrote.