Poll: 65% of Texans Want Immigration-Enforcement Law Like Arizona’s

Nearly half of all Texans would repeal the constitutional promise of citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil, and nearly two-thirds would favor Arizona-style state laws allowing the police to ask about the immigration status of anyone they stop for any reason, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants so-called birthright citizenship to babies born in this country regardless of the immigration status of their parents. Asked whether that provision should be repealed, 48 percent of respondents say yes, while 38 percent say no. The remaining 14 percent are undecided. Fifty-four percent of respondents “strongly favor” passing a Texas law mirroring Arizona’s controversial new immigration law, and another 11 percent “somewhat support” passage.

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Most Texas politicians have danced around immigration policy, not committing on the 14th Amendment and giving tepid responses on the Arizona law, saying they like elements of it but would have to see a proposal before taking a position. {snip}

Immigration and the economy dominate Texans’ answers to questions about the most-important issues.

They rank the importance of issues facing the country this way: the economy, 31 percent; unemployment/jobs, 17 percent; political corruption/leadership, 12 percent; federal spending/national debt, 11 percent; immigration, 5 percent. Their answers on the state level have a different focus: border security, 20 percent; immigration, 18 percent; unemployment/jobs, 14 percent; the economy, 12 percent; and political corruption/leadership, 9 percent.

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