Poll: Immigration splits Americans

Arizona immigration protests
Thousands of protesters rally at the Arizona Capitol on Sunday, April, 25, 2010. Activists called on President Barack Obama to fight a tough new Arizona law targeting illegal immigrants.
AP Photo

An Associated Press-Univision Poll has found that big majorities of Hispanics consider illegal immigrants a boon to the country and condemn Arizona's new law targeting undocumented people. That's a sharp contrast to how non-Hispanics view the smoldering issue of immigration.

The poll, taken earlier this month, found that 74 percent of Hispanics said the country's illegal immigrants mostly contribute to society. Just 35 percent of non-Hispanics agreed.

Some 67 percent of Hispanics said they oppose the Arizona law, compared with 20 percent of non-Hispanics. The law allows local police to demand citizenship papers from suspected illegal immigrants and to detain them if they can't produce the documents. (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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