The Trump administration announced last week it would begin to unwind the Obama-era program protecting undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US illegally as children from being deported and allowing them to apply for work authorizations.
Among 1,976 US citizens who participated in the poll, 54 percent said Congress should pass legislation allowing these illegal immigrants, referred to as Dreamers, to stay in the US, with a path to eventual citizenship if they meet certain requirements. Nineteen percent said that DACA beneficiaries should be allowed to remain and become legal residents.
Interestingly, the poll revealed a disconnect between Trump and the voters who helped elect him as President last November, with 68 percent of self-identified Trump voters saying Congress should let DACA recipients stay.
Although the Trump administration described the program as unconstitutional, Congress was still provided a six-month window of time to address the issue.
Last week, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Trump agreed to sign into law a measure shielding young undocumented immigrants from deportation if it's passed by lawmakers.
"We made it very clear in the course of the conversation that the priority was to pass the DREAM Act, that we wanted to do it in — obviously it has to be bipartisan," Pelosi told reporters.
"The president said he would — he supports that. He would sign it."
