If there’s one thing we’ve seen over and over from all sorts of pollsters, it’s that Americans are very positive on the idea of immigration reform. So it’s no surprise that a new poll from CNN/ORC of adult Americans confirms exactly that, finding strong support for the plan Barack Obama announced last week to halt deportations of undocumented immigrants (full poll here):
Q: A major part of Obama’s new policy changes will allow some immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally to stay here temporarily and apply for a work permit if they have children who are U.S. citizens. Other immigrants in the U.S. illegally will not be eligible for this program and can still be deported. Do you think that plan goes too far, does not go far enough, or is about right?
Too far: 26
Not far enough: 22
About right: 50
Undecided: 1
That’s a bare majority who outright favor Obama’s move, plus another 22 percent who presumably are on board but would like to see him do more. In other words, adult Americans back the president by an overwhelming 72-26 margin. Republicans are seriously fighting the wrong battle in trying to oppose this.
But communication is still key for Democrats. In a question preceding the one above, respondents were asked simply "do you favor or oppose the policies that Obama announced" in his immigration speech—without explaining what those policies are. By a 46-42 margin, adults said they were opposed! How can this be?
Well, it’s another classic case of people siding with whichever team they’re predisposed toward, but once they actually learn the details about the issues in question, then they’re more inclined to show flexibility in their views. We frustratingly saw this in the 2014 elections, where voters readily backed minimum wage increases at the ballot box while simultaneously voting for Republicans who oppose such increases.
Fortunately, Obama’s plan isn’t up for a vote. Republicans have been trying to make a big stink about that, and they’re probably heartened by the response to another question CNN asked, about whether respondents approve of Obama’s use of executive orders to implement his new policies. Fifty-six percent say they don’t like the idea versus 41 percent who do, but really, no one gives a damn about process issues like this. Yeah, wingnuts are flipping out about King Obama’s imperial presidency, but they already hate him. Normal Americans care about outcomes, not how we get there.
And indeed, they definitely think that Republicans should get on board with immigration reform. When asked if the GOP "should spend more time attempting to overturn Obama’s
immigration policies or more time attempting to pass a bill that makes comprehensive reforms to U.S. immigration policy," a huge 76 percent of respondents said they want to see the latter happen and just 21 percent want Republicans to continue their obstruction.
You’ll note that that spread is very similar to the one we saw in the very first question we highlighted, about whether Americans support Obama’s new plans. Again, people want immigration reform to get done. Conservative kvetching about how it gets done isn’t going to change that fact. While Republicans are undoubtedly heartened by 2014’s election results, they’re very much on the losing side of this issue, and strong and clear Democratic support for immigration reform could make 2016 wind up looking very different.