The Immigration Wedge

While half of Republicans (50%) favor giving illegal immigrants the possibility of obtaining citizenship; nearly as many within the party (46%) oppose such a move — an indication of the political difficulties faced by the immigration plan endorsed last week by the White House and members of Congress from both political parties. The plan, which would allow illegal immigrants to obtain renewable visas and begin a path to citizenship once border security improvements and a high-tech worker identification program were put in place, is a potentially powerful political wedge issue with an unlikely twist: Surveys find that immigration fractures the president’s own party at least as much as it divides the opposition. Read More