Immigration, Arizona & American Politics Create Huge National Divide, Says NBC Poll

A poll released today by NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo revealed a deep split in the opinions of white Americans and Hispanic Americans on the topics of immigration, the Arizona law and American politics. More than six in 10 Americans (61%) back Arizona's controversial new immigration law, including 70% of whites but just 31% of Hispanics. Less than half (43%) of whites agree that immigration strengthens America, but the majority (68%) of Hispanics believe it does strengthen the nation.

Obama's overall approval rating in the poll stands at 48%. But the divide exists here, too: Only about a third (38%) of whites approve of the president's job, versus two-thirds (68%) of Hispanics who do. Similarly, only about a third (34%) of whites have a favorable view of the Democratic Party, versus more than half (54%) of Hispanics who do.

But the one thing all seem to agree on is their disapproval of President Obama's handling of immigration reform -- just 32% of the public approves of his job on this issue.

According to the poll, Arizona's law could benefit Republicans in the short term if they choose to make it a campaign issue. Forty percent of registered voters say they would side with a Republican congressional candidate who supports the law, compared with 26% who would back a Democratic candidate who opposes it. But the long-term advantage is with Democrats, given the growing size of the Hispanic electorate. Per the poll, 23% of Hispanics are unregistered voters, compared with 12% of whites and 16% of African Americans. So the size of the Hispanic vote is only going to increase. And these folks -- as evidenced above -- overwhelmingly support Obama and the Democrats.

The poll also reveals some early support for comprehensive immigration reform. After hearing what would be in it - 60% of all respondents support comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Full poll results will be released on www.msnbc.com. The NBC/MSNBC/TELEMUNDO poll was commissioned in conjunction with the cross-network series "A Nation Divided." NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and Telemundo take a special look at the complicated topic of immigration during a daylong series of reports on-air and online May 26, 2010. The series sheds light on the on-going debate about immigration in America through investigative reporting, first hand accounts and interviews with immigration experts.

The poll was conducTed May 20-23 of 700 adults, and has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.7 percentage points. The poll also surveyed an oversample of 300 Hispanic adults, and the margin of error among those respondents is plus-minus 5.7 percentage points.

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