A new survey out today says more American voters want an immigration law in their own state that's similar to the controversial one adopted by Arizona.

The non-partisan Quinnipiac University Poll shows American voters say by 48%-35% that they want an immigration law like the one in Arizona, which requires law enforcement officials to ask someone's legal status if there is "reasonable suspicion" to believe the person is in the USA illegally.

President Obama has condemned the Arizona law and the Justice Department is exploring legal challenges. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has said her state had to act because the federal government has failed to pass a comprehensive immigration law and help Arizona close its porous border.

"The Arizona immigration law has emerged as a major divide in the country, but the numbers are on the side of those supporting it," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. He predicted the Arizona law would be a factor in the November elections.

The survey also found that a majority of voters approve of the Arizona law, while 45% think it will reduce illegal immigration. Voters 18 to 34 said they were opposed to an Arizona-style law in their state, by 43%-36%, while a majority of voters over 35 supported such a measure.

Three out of four voters also say plans to boycott Arizona over the law are a bad idea. Hundreds of people protested the law yesterday outside of Dodger Stadium (see picture above), where the Los Angeles Dodgers were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks. Some baseball fans want the Dodgers to move their spring training facility out of Arizona, and Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres has said he would boycott next summer's All-Star Game in Phoenix if he is chosen to play.

The survey of 1,914 registered voters nationwide was conducted May 19-24. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points.

(Posted by Catalina Camia)