Citizenship for immigrant babies opposed

ASBURY PARK, N.J., July 5 (UPI) -- Nearly two of three Arizona voters would deny automatic U.S. citizenship to children born in the United States to illegal immigrants, a survey indicated.

The Rasmussen Reports telephone survey released Monday found voters said they favored a state senator's proposal not to grant instant citizenship to U.S.-born babies by a 64 percent to 26 percent margin.

Under current U.S. law, any child born in the United States to an illegal immigrant is automatically a U.S. citizen.

Russell Pearce, a Republican state senator, said he plans to introduce a bill that would deny birth certificates to children born to illegal immigrants.

Republicans and Democrats differed in their views, with 84 percent of Republicans saying the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States should not become citizens and Democratic voters split nearly evenly.

The poll also gauged opinion on Arizona's controversial immigration law. Two-thirds of respondents said they support it to 24 percent who oppose it.

The law, which was signed April 23 by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer and takes effect July 29, makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally. It stipulates a law enforcement officer making a stop or during detention or arrest can request proof of citizenship if the officer has "reasonable suspicion" a person is in the country illegally.

The Rasmussen results are based on 500 responses to the June 29 survey, which has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.