Poll Suggests North Dakotans Strongly Support Immigration Reform

Politico reported yesterday that new polling showed strongly majority support for immigration reform across the nation. According to the polling data from North Dakota, reform is popular in this state as well.

Here’s what Politico reported:

In a polling memo set for release Thursday– and shared early with POLITICO – Democratic pollster Tom Jensen and Republican pollster Brock McCleary reveal that their surveys found “overwhelming, bipartisan support for the bill” across 29 states.

“Over the last few years, we’ve seen a country increasingly polarized across party lines when it comes to almost all attempts to move legislation. Yet, the compromise that’s been crafted on immigration reform is a rare exception to that rule. The bill that’s been constructed has broad support with every segment of the electorate in every part of the country,” write Jensen, who heads the firm Public Policy Polling, and McCleary, of Harper Polling.

In each state, the pollsters described the legislation in accurate but positive terms, telling participants that the Gang of Eight bill would help “secure our borders, block employers from hiring undocumented immigrants” and require undocumented immigrants to meet “a long list of requirements … over more than a decade” in order to obtain a pathway to citizenship.

Presented with that favorable description of the legislation, voters responded warmly, with between 61 and 78 percent in each state expressing support.

Posted below are the full questions, as well as the responses.

Here are the results:

88% – Percentage of respondents who say it’s “very” or “somewhat” important to fix our immigration system this year.

68% – Percentage of respondents who “strongly” or “somewhat” back the current Gang of Eight reform proposal being debated in Washington

65% – Percentage of respondents who “strongly” or “somewhat” back “an immigration reform plan that ensures undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. pay a penalty, learn English, pass a criminal background check, pay taxes, and wait a minimum of thirteen years before they can be eligible for citizenship.”

66% – Percentage of respondents who say they’re more likely to vote for an elected official who backs such a plan.

69% – Percentage of respondents who “strongly” or “somewhat” agree that their senators should back this legislation.

That’s strong support, but again this is a poll which describes the legislation in terms that are pretty convenient for the legislation itself. I suspect that, as the immigration debate looms larger in the public’s mind, the strong support this poll shows will erode.