Poll: 67 percent of Latinos oppose Arizona immigration law

A poll released Friday shows that Latinos largely disapprove of the controversial new immigration law in Arizona.

Sixty-seven percent said they oppose the law, according to the poll by Spanish-language television network Univision. The survey shows that Latinos are divided on the U.S.'s actions to keep immigrants from entering the country illegally; 52 percent believe the government should do more.

The law requires state and local law enforcement officers to ask for identification from people they believe are in the country illegally, as long as they are stopped for another reason.

Critics say the measure will likely lead to racial profiling of Latinos, but Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) and the bill's supporters claim that illegals crossing the border have made many areas of Arizona dangerous because of crimes related to drug trading.

The poll shows that 89 percent of Latinos believe illegal immigration is a serious problem, but that 73 percent think that police crackdowns on undocumented immigrants unfairly target their ethnic group.

The bill has prompted several members of Congress to push for the passage of comprehensive immigration reform. Eighty-six percent of respondents said they favor a legal path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the U.S.

Democrats have used the law to rail against Republicans, saying they are out of touch with Latinos and are at risk of losing their support completely.

Eighty-four percent think that the law will result in police in Arizona stopping and questioning legal immigrants or U.S. citizens. 

A separate poll, conducted by the labor union SEIU and the National Council of La Raza and released Friday, showed the potential political consequences of the law. Eighty-one percent of Arizona Latino registered voters oppose the bill.

The poll was taken May 7-12 and is based on phone interviews, on both landline and cell phones, with 901 Latino adults.

This post was updated at 1:14 p.m.

---