Contrary to the way the media approach the issue of immigration reform, a CBS poll released Tuesday makes it crystal clear that a majority of Americans, 56%, want the border secured before anything is done to address legalization or a path to citizenship. Only 37% want the “status of illegal immigrants” addressed before the border is secured.

The media continue to fabricate a reality where the House GOP are on the wrong side of this issue because they won’t pass or vote on the Senate’s bloated, ObamaCare-ish immigration reform package. But no one believes the Senate bill will result in what a clear majority obviously want: border security before anything else.

The Senate bill is nothing more than the “promise” of border security, a promise no one believes will be kept. When illegals favor Democrats 8-t-1, the incentive for a Democrat administration that regularly shrugs off laws it doesn’t like (including immigration laws) to enforce the border just isn’t there.

The poll does show that 78% of Americans approve of a path to citizenship, but only after a “waiting period, paying fines and back taxes, passing a criminal background check, and learning English.”

As this poll shows, if the GOP focus on border security, they will have 56% of the American people with them. Moreover, if they approach the overall issue through a mature piecemeal approach (as opposed to the Senate boondoggle), the GOP will have 53% of the American people with them.

House Republicans can win on this issue if they will just click off the fabricated reality being crafted by the media (especially on CNN and MSNBC) and sharpen their messaging.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC