Just over half of the country is in favor of a tough new immigration law in Arizona, according to a new Gallup poll. More Americans favor Ariz. law

Just more than half of the people who have heard of the law are in favor of a tough new immigration law in Arizona, according to a Gallup poll out Thursday.

Fifty-one percent of those polled nationwide who said they have heard of the new law favor the measure, which grants police to right to ask to see proof of citizenship from anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant. Thirty-nine percent said they oppose it.


Three-quarters of the Republicans and half of the independents polled said they approve of the law. Only 34 percent of Democrats said the same.

Seventy-eight percent of the people contact by Gallup said they had either heard a "great deal" or a "fair amount" about the state law.

"Most Americans have heard about Arizona's tough new immigration law, and they generally support it," wrote Gallup's Jeffrey M. Jones in his analysis of the survey.

"The law was passed partly in response to a lack of federal action on the issue," he continued. "Since the Arizona bill became law, congressional Democrats have considered taking up the issue in the coming weeks, though this initial read on public opinion toward the Arizona law suggests Americans may not necessarily back an attempt to supersede or otherwise undermine it."

The survey interviewed 1,013 adults and was conducted April 27-28 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.