The president has pledged to pursue a major immigration overhaul in his second term. Poll: W.H. backed on immigration

In a turnaround from two years ago, a majority of Americans agree with the White House’s second-term plan to focus on comprehensive immigration reform that allows illegal immigrants to have a pathway to citizenship to stay in the country, according to a poll on Tuesday.

( PHOTOS: 20 quotes on immigration reform)


Fifty-three percent of Americans want the federal government to focus on developing a plan to allow illegal immigrants to become legal residents, the CNN poll found. Forty-three percent want the federal government to focus on deporting them. That’s a dramatic reversal from two years ago, when 55 percent of Americans wanted the focus on deportation. Then, only 42 percent wanted a way for immigrants to stay here permanently.

Obama has pledged to pursue a major immigration overhaul in the first year of his second term, which began Monday. The bill would likely include a pathway to legal citizenship for illegal immigrants, increased border enforcement and a plan to allow more high-tech workers into the country.

( Also on POLITICO: 10 memorable lines from Obama’s speech)

“Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity, until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country,” Obama said during his inaugural address on Monday.

The strategy marks a reversal of sorts from Obama’s first four years in office, which included a record number of deportations.

The poll of 814 adults was conducted Jan. 14 and Jan. 15. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.