Why the GOP Is Backing Away from Immigration Reform

Democracy Corps: “Support for immigration reform among all voters remains high–last week’s CNN/ORC poll found that 54 percent of adults nationwide would support a plan to allow those already in the country to become legal residents. Add to that employment, fluency in English, and back taxes, and support jumps to 81 percent.”

“But if you look at how this issue breaks down by party, just a third (34 percent) of Republicans say we should create a way to accommodate those already here. By contrast, 55 percent of independents and 69 percent of Democrats believe there should be a way for those already here to become legal residents. The problem lies within the Republican Party–that same survey found just 29 percent of Tea Party supporters favor a path to legal residency.”