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WASHINGTON--Nearly half the US population believes immigration should decrease in their country, a Gallup poll showed Tuesday, two days before a law criminalizing illegal immigration goes into effect in Arizona.
The July 8-11 telephone survey on immigration of 1,020 adults found 45 percent saying it should decrease, 17 percent that it should increase, and 34 percent that it should stay at current levels.
Gallup said the gap between the extreme views had narrowed since last year, when 50 percent wanted immigration to decrease and 14 percent favored an increase.
Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the opinion tracker said, Americans have taken a tougher stance on immigration.
On Thursday an Arizona law goes into effect making it a crime to enter the country illegally, the first US state to do so over the objections of the federal government which considers immigration policy its prerogative.
President Barack Obama's administration is pushing Congress to adopt immigration reform to deal with the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, and has taken Arizona to court over the law it passed in April. A court ruling is pending.
The Gallup poll also found that 57 percent of Americans believe immigration has been a "good thing" for the country -- one of the lowest ratings in 10 years, against 36 percent who think it has been a "bad thing."
Regarding the Arizona law, recent surveys found more than 60 percent of the US population supporting it.
