About six in 10 worry "a great deal or a fair amount" about illegal immigration, with Hispanics and Republicans at the top of the list, according to a new survey about the hot button issue.

Gallup found that 59 percent fret over the issue, and the political divide is huge, with 79 percent of Republicans worried but just 48 percent of Democrats feeling the same way. Independents are in the middle at 57 percent.



Even more interesting is the racial breakdown on the issue. Gallup said that the group most concerned about illegal immigration are Hispanics, a high of 67 percent. The survey said that the group has expressed concerns of discrimination sparked by the focus on illegals.

"Hispanics' slightly greater concern about illegal immigration does not appear to be motivated by politics because Hispanics are a Democratic-leaning group politically. Whereas Republicans' heightened concern with illegal immigration appears to focus on limiting it, Hispanics' greater concern may reflect worries about the treatment of immigrants who are illegally in the U.S.," said Gallup.



It added, "Hispanics have shown higher support for policies to aid immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, including President Barack Obama's 2014 executive orders. Gallup has also found much higher levels of reported discrimination among non-U.S.-born Hispanics than among native-born Hispanics. Hispanics may be growing more concerned in reaction to the increased focus on dealing with immigrants in the country illegally, which could affect themselves, their family members or their neighbors."

Gallup indicated that the concerns of illegal immigration felt by Republicans and Hispanics have helped to keep the level of worry steady over the past few years.

Said Gallup's analysis:

Before 2006, Republicans, Democrats and independents expressed similar concern about illegal immigration. Republicans' concern then surged 20 percentage points between 2006 and 2011, compared with a 12-point increase for independents and a four-point uptick for Democrats.

Since then, Republicans' worry has remained elevated, while Democrats' and independents' worry has fallen significantly, with fewer Democrats worried now than in the early 2000s. Those changes have resulted in the Republican-Democratic gap growing from a narrow two points at the beginning of the 21st century to an average 31 points in recent years.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com