Sixty percent of Americans say the government's top priority in dealing with illegal immigrants should be developing a plan to allow those who have jobs to become legal residents, a CNN/ORC poll reveals.
Here are the highlights of the survey:
- 13 percent say deporting those who are already in the U.S. illegally should be the government's top immigration priority.
- 26 percent believe the priority should be to develop a plan to stop immigrants from entering the U.S. illegally.
- 27 percent support deportation all those living in the U.S. illegally, compared to 71 percent who do not.
- 78 percent support deportation of all those living in the U.S. illegally, who have been convicted of crimes, while 19 percent do not.
- 58 percent are concerned that deportation efforts will go too far and push people out who have not committed serious crimes, while 40 percent say it won't go far enough and will result in dangerous criminals remaining in the U.S.
- 90 percent favor a bill that would allow illegal immigrants, who have been in the U.S and hold jobs, speak English and are willing to pay any back taxes, to apply for citizenship, while 9 percent are opposed.
CNN reported the poll shows Americans disagree with President Trump's immigration policies.
"Trump has made tough border security and strict enforcement of U.S. immigration laws a focal point of his campaign and presidency — using some of his first executive orders to pave the way for far more deportations and detentions as well as ordering the construction of a Southern border wall," the news network reported.
But the poll "finds that the public is actually moving in the opposite direction since Trump has won election," CNN added.
CNN/ORC interviewed 1,025 people by phone from March 1-4 for the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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