The results of a nationwide poll of Latino voters released last week found immigration to be a personal issue for many. Among other things, out of a sample of 500 registered voters in 21 states, 53 percent said they knew someone who is undocumented, and one-fourth said they knew a person or family who has faced immigrant detention or deportation.

Today, the polling firm Latino Decisions and impreMedia, parent company of the Spanish-language Los Angeles newspaper La Opinión, announced more detailed results from their most recent joint tracking poll.

These provided a sampling of Latino voters' opinions of President Obama, in particular their opinions of his handling of immigration issues.

From a summary of the results, some highlights:

48% approve of Obama's handling of immigration issue; 38% disapprove

48% say Democrats are doing a good job of outreach to Hispanics; 31% say Democrats don't care too much; 7% say Dems are being hostile

12% say Republicans are doing a good job of outreach to Hispanics; 49% say GOP doesn't care too much; 23% say GOP is being hostile

46% think the lack of immigration reform since '08 is understandable given all the issues facing the country; 42% say Obama should have pushed harder to pass reform

50% think immigration reform has not passed because Republicans are blocking passage; 33% think it has not passed because Obama did not push hard enough

51% think the President's recent outreach on immigration is a serious attempt to pass reform; 41% think the President is just saying what Latinos want to hear because the election is approaching

55% say Republican calls for increased border security is an excuse to block immigration reform; 30% think increasing border security is a legitimate concern

Read More...

Since early this year, the polling firm Latino Decisions has been working with impreMedia, parent company of the Spanish-language Los Angeles newspaper La Opinión, to produce a series of tracking polls measuring Latinos voters' attitudes.

A recent poll this spring ranked the importance of various federal policy issues, with immigration topping the list. Now, the latest poll digs more deeply into the immigration topic. Its results illustrate just how personal of an issue immigration is for these voters, and provide a glimpse into the prevalence of mixed status in family and community circles.

Out of a sample of 500 registered voters in 21 states who identified as Latino, 53 percent said they knew someone who is undocumented. One-fourth said they knew a person or family who has faced immigrant detention or deportation.

Read More...