Poll: 63 percent support pathway to citizenship A new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute finds the public backing a pathway to citizenship

According to a new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute, a significant majority of Americans (63 percent) supports immigration reform that includes an ultimate pathway to citizenship.

Despite the likelihood that such a provision would be described by some on the right as dread "amnesty," the poll found a full 60 percent of Republicans — as well as 57 percent of independents and 73 percent of Democrats — support a pathway. Support held strong across religious affiliations, too.

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The report also polled two different versions of a pathway — one with requirements like learning English, paying back taxes, and passing a background check; and one without — and found that support stayed at a strong 59 percent with no requirements, while rocketing up to a full 71 percent when requirements were included.

Unsurprisingly, these requirements were most important to GOP respondents, whose support for a pathway dwindled to around 40 percent when no requirements were mentioned, and increased to 62 percent when they were.

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