Gallup: Key immigration-reform proposals hold broad support

Two immigration reform proposals — a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants and increased border security spending — have strong support among the public, a Gallup survey found Tuesday.

Seventy-two percent of those surveyed said illegal immigrants presently living in the U.S. should have an opportunity to acquire citizenship if they meet certain requirements, and 25 percent said they should not.

Sixty-eight percent also supported increased government spending on border security, while only 29 percent were opposed.

While there is some variation between Republicans and Democrats surveyed, both proposals enjoyed majority support from members of both parties.

Fifty-nine percent of Republicans said they supported a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, versus 90 percent among Democrats. And on the question of increased spending on border security, 79 percent of Republicans said they supported the idea, compared to 64 percent of Democrats.

A bipartisan group of Senate lawmakers have proposed a framework that entails increased security measures at the border and a path to citizenship that doesn’t allow illegal immigrants to leapfrog immigrants who have already applied to come to the U.S. legally.

GOP leaders, including Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), have said they hope to act on immigration reform, but rank-and-file House Republicans are skeptical of proposals to grant citizenship, which they call “amnesty."

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