Yet another poll, this one from Marist, shows that protecting undocumented immigrant youth from deportation should be a no-brainer for Congress. “By an 81-15% margin, Americans support allowing Dreamers to stay in the U.S. and gain legal residency”:
- 58% of Americans back citizenship (“should be allowed to stay in the United States and become citizens”);
- 23% back legal status short of citizenship (“should be allowed to stay in the United States and become legal residents but not citizens”)
According to Marist, support for Dreamers extends way past party lines, with 92 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of Independents, and 67 percent of Republicans supporting legalization for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. Only a fringe 15 percent (*cough Stephen Miller and Omarosa cough*) support deporting Dreamers.
The polling comes as Congress faces a two-week window to pass the DREAM Act by the end of the year, and both activists and legislators have been calling on Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to act. More than 11,000 DACA recipients have already lost their protections, and 122 more lose their work permits and protection from deportation every single day.
“Keeping Dreamers in America—the country they grew up in and the place that is home—is overwhelmingly popular across the country and across the political spectrum,” said America’s Voice leader Frank Sharry. “Why are so many Republicans in Congress and the White House treating this like it’s a controversial issue? It’s not.”