Poll: Most favor Arizona immigration law

WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- Most Americans back the Arizona law giving police authority to check documentation of suspected illegal immigrants, a Washington Post-ABC News poll indicates.

But results released Thursday also indicate most Americans support a program that gives people in the United States illegally an opportunity to become citizens.

Fifty-eight percent of those polled said they supported the Arizona law while 41 said they did not.

Results indicated a widespread perception the federal government wasn't doing enough to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country, pollsters said. Overall, 75 percent of those polled blamed border enforcement; 83 percent support deploying National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Race played heavily in responses, results showed. Sixty-eight percent of whites back the law, compared with 31 percent of non-whites.

While a majority of Americans back the Arizona law, 57 percent said they support a plan that would offer illegal immigrants already in the United States a path to citizenship if they if they pay a fine and meet certain requirements, the Washington Post-ABC News poll said.

The nationwide telephone poll sampled 1,004 adults June 3-6. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.