Louisiana Voters Overwhelmingly Support Bipartisan Senate Immigration Bill

BATON ROUGE, La., June 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- "State leaders say Louisiana is ready for Immigration Reform and a recent poll backs that thought," says Jimmy Burland, spokesman for a variety of groups seeking support of the Gang of Eight's Immigration Reform measure being debated in the U.S. Senate this week.

The poll was conducted by Public Policy Polling and sponsored by the Alliance for Citizenship, Partnership for a New American Economy and Republicans for Immigration Reform—three distinct organizations that represent reform efforts from across the political spectrum.

Highlights of the poll are:

• 70% of likely voters in Louisiana say they strongly or somewhat support bipartisan immigration reform;
• 80% of those polled say they strongly or somewhat support a bill that includes a tough but fair path to citizenship;
• 63% of those polled are more likely to vote for an elected official who supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship;
• 86% of those polled say it is very or somewhat important that the U.S. fix its immigration system now.

To highlight the bipartisan nature of the bill, Louisiana Local 21 SIEU President Helene O'Brien says the business community as well as labor groups support the initiative.

"This legislation will protect jobs for everyone.  It takes wage rates out of the shadows and ensures living wages for all workers.  This is critical for saving American jobs, especially Louisiana jobs," she says.

Full poll results can be found at:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4p230zdkfr6to0k/LouisianaResults2.pdf

The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) telephone surveys of likely voters were conducted between June 2-10, 2013.  The poll has a minimum size of 500 respondents and a margin of error of less than 5%.

SOURCE Public Policy Polling