Report: Mixed Views on Immigration Bill

The public is ambivalent about the immigration bill being debated by the Senate, according to a Pew Research Center Poll. Most Americans favor one of its key objectives, but the bill itself draws a mostly negative reaction from those who have heard about it. Just a third of those who have heard something about the bill favor it, while 41% are opposed, and a relatively large minority (26%) offers no opinion.

Yet one of the bill's primary goals - to provide a way for people who are in this country illegally to gain legal citizenship under certain conditions - wins broad and bipartisan support. Overall, 63% of the public - and nearly identical numbers of Republicans, Democrats and independents - favor such an approach if illegal immigrants "pass background checks, pay fines and have jobs."

View full article "Mixed Views on Immigration Bill" on the Pew Research Center Web site.

Read a more comprehensive report on the Pew Research Center for People and the Press Web site.