Immigration Reform News 2014: Approval Rating of President Obama's Policies Hit Low Point
A new Gallup poll reveals that two in three Americans disapprove of the way President Barack Obama's administration is handling immigration.
According to Politico, 65 percent of Americans disapprove, the highest disapproval rate of the immigration system since Gallup began polling on the subject. The disapproval rate is also up 10 points since August.
Only 31 percent approve of Obama's management of immigration, the lowest since 2010, when only 29 percent approved of his handling of immigration reform.
Unsurprisingly, the issue falls along partisan lines: 60 percent of Democrats approve of Obama's management of immigration, while only 25 percent of independents and 8 percent of Republicans approve.
While Obama's approval rating on immigration is still higher among Democrats, support has waned in his party: Democrats' approval has fallen eight points since August.
The survey was conducted from June 5 to 8 and includes 1,027 adults, with a margin of error plus or minus four percentage points.
Immigration reform is at the forefront of American politics, with a debate ongoing about Obama's delay of a review of deportation policies by the Department of Homeland Security. Immigrant rights advocates are critical of Obama's deportation policies, as more undocumented immigrants have been deported under his administration than were deported under the administration of President George W. Bush.
Immigrant rights groups argue that the high rate of deportations breaks up families and hinders hopes at facilitating immigration reform.
Many Americans and immigrant activists also are unhappy with partisan gridlock in Washington over the immigration reform bill.
The House of Representatives has failed to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill due to staunch opposition from the Republican majority. The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill last June, but it has languished in the House due to Republican opposition.
The recent primary loss of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has been attributed to his hard-line stance on immigration. The primary loss could portend more immigration reform challenges as Obama tries to negotiate with conservatives.
Another major issue is the increasing number of unaccompanied migrant children crossing into the United States from Central America.
High numbers of unaccompanied minors are flooding immigrant detention centers and highlighting the issue of violence and economic hardship in Central American countries like Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Many immigrant children are also turning themselves in once they cross the border, leading many Republican lawmakers to believe they are gaming the system. Many of the children have a contact in the United States and are handed over to guardians in the U.S. to await trial.
The future of immigration reform is not certain, as Republicans could have a majority in both houses of Congress after the midterm elections. Or, if given the opportunity to control both houses, Republicans could use the opportunity to make reform a bipartisan effort.
If they fail to do so, they could lose the crucial support of the large Latino electorate -- most of whom vote Democratic -- in the 2016 presidential election.