Political Splits on Immigration Reflect Voters' Ambivalence

[Thom Little]

When Congress returns to the unfinished business of immigration early in the new year, lawmakers will be trying to reconcile sometimes conflicting public attitudes on an issue that has become a crusade to some conservative Republicans but has defied effective solutions over the past three decades.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll taken in mid-December found Americans alarmed by the federal government's failure to do more to block the flow of illegal immigration and critical of the impact of illegal immigration on the country but receptive to the aspirations of undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States.

"You wonder why politicians are not always consistent," said Republican pollster Glen Bolger. "It's because public opinion's not always consistent."

.......

Mark Mellman, a Democratic pollster, said Americans are ambivalent on this issue. "There is a clear view that families that are here, that are working, paying taxes and contributing to society, ought to be able to get regularized status," he said. "On the other hand, there is a view about not rewarding illegal behavior."




http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/02/AR2006010201376.html