Three-quarters of American adults say that immigrants living in the United States illegally should be able to stay. Catholics as a whole closely resemble the general public on this view, though Hispanic Catholics are much more supportive than non-Hispanic white Catholics. Majorities of other religious groups also support allowing undocumented immigrants to remain in the country.
The White House is under pressure from Democrats and Latino leaders to ease deportations, as the number of unauthorized immigrants sent home neared 2 million under the Obama administration. Last week, National Council of La Raza President Janet Murguía called the president the “deporter-in-chief.”
Today, as many Hispanics approve as disapprove (47%-47%) of the new health care law. That’s down markedly compared with the 61% approval just six months ago. And during the same time period, Obama’s job approval rating has slipped 15 points among Hispanics.
For the first time in nearly two decades, immigrants do not account for the majority of Hispanic workers in the United States. And most of the job gains made by Hispanics during the economic recovery have gone to U.S.-born workers.
Hispanics have voted in record numbers in recent years, but their turnout rate continues to lag behind whites and blacks, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census data.
Between 1992 and 2012, the number of offenders sentenced in federal courts more than doubled, driven largely by a 28-fold increase in the number of unlawful reentry convictions.