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Poll: Americans leaning more pro-immigration

Irina Alexandra Tone, a newly sworn in citizen of the United States, stands in front of an American flag when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials hold a naturalization ceremony for 150 immigrants in New York City on July 2, 2013. UPI/John Angelillo
Irina Alexandra Tone, a newly sworn in citizen of the United States, stands in front of an American flag when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials hold a naturalization ceremony for 150 immigrants in New York City on July 2, 2013. UPI/John Angelillo | License Photo

PRINCETON, N.J., July 11 (UPI) -- As House Republicans and Democrats consider separately how to address immigration reform, U.S. residents are more pro-immigration than before, Gallup said.

Poll results released Thursday indicate 40 percent of respondents say immigration should be maintained at its present level, while 35 percent said it should be decreased.

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Twenty-three percent said they wanted to see immigration increased, the highest Gallup said it ever recorded.

The views expressed in this poll contrast with much of the previous decade, particularly after the 2001 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, when nearly half indicated they preferred a decrease in immigration, and as few as 12 percent-to-18 percent said they wanted an increase, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said

Among non-whites, blacks and Hispanics expressed similar preferences on immigration levels, as 67 percent of blacks and 68 percent of Hispanics said they favor maintaining or increasing immigration, Gallup said.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 4,373 adults conducted June 13-July 5, including oversamples of black and Hispanic adults. The margin of error for the overall survey is 2 percentage points.

For results based on the sample of 2,149 non-Hispanic whites, the margin of error is 3 percentage points.

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For results based on the sample of 1,010 non-Hispanic blacks, the margin of error is 5 percentage points.

For results based on the sample of 1,000 Hispanics, the margin of error is 6 percentage points.

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