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Gallup: 75 percent of Americans say immigration is good

By Susan McFarland
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., joined by fellow House democrats, speaks at a press conference to introduce legislation to end family separation for those detained for crossing the border illegally, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. A Gallup poll released Thursday reveals 75 percent of Americans say immigration is a good thing. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., joined by fellow House democrats, speaks at a press conference to introduce legislation to end family separation for those detained for crossing the border illegally, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. A Gallup poll released Thursday reveals 75 percent of Americans say immigration is a good thing. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

June 21 (UPI) -- A record-high 75 percent of Americans think immigration is a good thing for the United States, results from a new Gallup Poll indicate.

Support for immigration spanned the political spectrum, as 80 percent of Republicans and 92 percent of Democrats said legal immigration is good for the U.S.. Nineteen percent of the public thinks immigration is bad, according to the study released Thursday.

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Also noted in the poll, fewer Americans want less immigration. A record-low number of those polled, 29 percent, said immigration should be decreased. Thirty-nine percent thought immigration should be kept as it is and 28 percent said it should be increased.

The poll, conducted from June 1 to June 13, included a new feature from Gallup. The polling company tested an alternative wording by asking half of respondents about "immigration" and the other half about "legal immigration."

Those asked about "legal immigration" were more likely than those asked about "immigration" to support an immigration increase -- with a 6-percent gap between 34 percent versus 28 percent, respectively.

The U.S. House of Representatives was expected to vote on two pieces of immigration legislation that address policy reform, potentially affecting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Commonly known as DACA, the Obama-era policy has protected immigrants who entered the country illegally as minors with their parents.

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Gallup polling has shown the U.S. public strongly favors allowing DACA beneficiaries to remain in the country and have a path to citizenship. Polling also finds the public is at odds with President Donald Trump over his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Trump administration also has been under increasing pressure from the public, religious leaders and members of Congress to end the practice of separating children from parents at border detention facilities.

Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order ending the practice.

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