While about 60 percent of Republicans in the poll of 1,000 likely voters surveyed by Ayres, McHenry & Associates, Inc. for Resurgent Republic said they oppose a “path to citizenship” for immigrants currently in the country illegally, 54 percent of Independents and 64 percent of Democrats said they supported such a policy.
Ramesh Ponnuru, a conservative columnist for National Review, cautiously hinted Tuesday at a panel to discuss the Resurgent Republic findings that the outright opposition among many conservatives to a “path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants may not be a wise strategy.
“The most popular argument against a path to citizenship, or as the critics would call it ‘amnesty’ is that it rewards law-breaking and thus it’s wrong in principle,” he said.
“And I think it’s interesting that was tested in this poll, and that did not seem to be a winning message.”
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