Bipartisan Majorities in the Battlegrounds Agree on Proposals to Give Most Undocumented Immigrants Path to Legal Status, Deter Illegal Immigration

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Sep 02, 2026, 13:10 ET

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- While immigration is a highly divisive issue in Washington, DC, new surveys in 11 competitive states and 28 congressional districts across the country reveal substantial bipartisan common ground among the public on proposals to address the millions of undocumented people living in the US.

For the vast majority of undocumented immigrants – people who have been in the US for years and have no criminal record – majorities of both Democrats and Republicans favor offering them a pathway to become legal residents, if they pay a penalty and any owed taxes. For people brought to the US illegally as children, bipartisan majorities favor offering them a pathway to citizenship. These proposals have bipartisan support in every state and district surveyed.

For undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a crime, deportation is favored by bipartisan majorities.

To deter immigrants from coming to the US illegally for work – the primary motivator for most immigrants – and steer them into a legal pathway, bipartisan majorities in every competitive state and district surveyed favor a proposal to:

require employers to verify new employees' legal status using E-Verify, and
increase the number of work visas in line with the demand for labor

To reduce the amount of time that asylum-seekers wait in the US for their court hearing, which is often years, bipartisan majorities favor hiring more immigration court judges to speed up asylum cases.

All proposals presented were derived from Congressional legislation.

Steven Kull, Director of the University of Maryland's Program for Public Consultation (PPC) noted, "Bipartisan majorities favor reforms that would reduce the number of immigrants living in the US without legal status, but not through mass deportation. Rather, Americans want to allow the millions who have been here for years and not committed any serious crimes to come out of the shadows and be able to live and work here legally."

Common Ground in the Battlegrounds?
This survey release is the seventh in the Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? survey series being conducted by the Program for Public Consultation (PPC) in the run-up to the November election in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts.

Surveys on a total of fifteen topics will be released on a rolling basis until the midterm elections, covering over 100 specific policy questions. The policies – most of which are pending in Congress – were chosen because surveys by PPC and others consistently found majority Republican and Democratic agreement nationally. The results for all individual states and districts can be found here. Previously released surveys: Artificial Intelligence, Housing, Healthcare, Low-Income Assistance, Families and Children, Social Security.

Addressing Undocumented Immigrants in the U.S.
For undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a crime, large bipartisan majorities favor the government deporting them (Democrats 70 to 91%, Republicans 85 to 98%, overall 80 to 90%). Nationally, a bipartisan majority is in favor (Democrats 79%, Republicans 94%, overall 85%).

For undocumented immigrants who have been in the US for years, and have not committed a crime, bipartisan majorities favor offering them legal status if they pay a penalty and any taxes they owe (Democrats 75 to 89%, Republicans 55 to 78%, overall 65 to 84%). Nationally, a bipartisan majority is in favor (Democrats 84%, Republicans 69%, overall 77%).

For undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US illegally as children, and have not committed a serious crime, large bipartisan majorities favor offering them a path to citizenship (Democrats 80 to 95%, Republicans 60 to 82%, overall 70 to 86%). Nationally, a bipartisan majority is in favor (Democrats 89%, Republicans 76%, overall 83%).

Reducing Illegal Immigration
To reduce the number of immigrants coming to the US illegally for work, which is the main reason they do so, and steer them into a legal pathway, a two-part proposal is favored by bipartisan majorities:

require employers to verify the legal status of their workers using the E-Verify system, and
increase the number of work visas in line with the demand for workers.

Over two-thirds of Democrats (75 to 90%) and Republicans (67 to 89%) are in favor, and overall (76 to 85%). Nationally, a bipartisan majority is in favor (Democrats 84%, Republicans 82%, overall 83%).

Reducing Wait Times in the U.S. for Asylum Seekers
To reduce the amount of time that asylum seekers wait in the US for their court hearing, which can be several years, bipartisan majorities favor hiring several hundred more asylum judges and staff to significantly speed up the process of evaluating claims (Democrats 72 to 87%, Republicans 66 to 83%, overall 71 to 83%). Nationally, a bipartisan majority is in favor (Democrats 83%, Republicans 73%, overall 76%).

MORE INFORMATION

About the Surveys
The state and district surveys used for this analysis were fielded May 27 - June 25, 2026, to a total of 19,564 adults, including 600-2,000 in each of the 11 states, and 400-500 in each of the 28 congressional districts. The response rates were 7.1 to 9.0%. The confidence intervals range from +/- 2.9 to 7.6%, and the maximum weights range from 1.9 to 6.9.

The national survey was fielded February 11-26, 2026, with 2,509 adults. The response rate was 7.6%. The confidence interval is +/- 2.9%, and the maximum weight is 2.5.

Sample was obtained from multiple online opt-in panels, including Cint, Dynata and Prodege. Sample collection and quality control was managed by QuantifyAI under the direction of the Program for Public Consultation. The surveys were offered in both English and Spanish.

The samples were pre-stratified and weighted by age, race, ethnicity, gender, education, household income, marital status, and home ownership to match the general adult population. The national sample was further weighted by Census region. Partisan distributions in each sample were within expectations, based on voter registration or Cook's Partisan Voting Index, or weighted to reflect those benchmarks.

About the Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? Survey Series
The Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? project is conducting and releasing a survey series in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts, being released on a rolling basis through the midterm elections. Surveys will cover 15 topics and include over 100 specific policy questions. The goal of this effort is to determine where there is bipartisan common ground in competitive states and districts across the nation. Additionally, the project seeks to educate the public, policymakers and candidates about the findings; and provide journalists with independent, nonpartisan research that brings the public into the conversation about public policy.

In addition to PPC, project partners include the Civic Innovation Center at the University of Maryland (CivIC), and Voice of the People (VOP), a national nonpartisan organization seeking to give the public a greater voice in government. None of these entities advocate for policy positions or endorse candidates.

Program for Public Consultation
The Program for Public Consultation (PPC), affiliated with the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, seeks to improve democratic governance by consulting the public and bringing the people's views into the public discourse. It conducts surveys with representative samples on policies proposed by elected officials and shares its findings with government officials, the media, other academics, and the general public.

Civic Innovation Center
The Civic Innovation Center (CivIC) at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy works to strengthen the foundations of civic health. It contributes to important debates about civic education, civic engagement, and needed democratic reforms in the state of Maryland and nationwide, in partnership with other BIG 10 universities. It works to build the connective tissue that brings together students, scholars and practitioners to help elevate the UMD community's contribution to our wider democracy.

Voice of the People
Voice of the People (VOP) is a nonpartisan organization working to re-anchor our democracy in its founding principles by giving 'We the People' a greater and more effective voice in government. It champions innovative methods and technology that enable the American people to play a role in the policymaking process and provide policymakers with a more accurate understanding of the views of their constituents.

Contact: Jonathan Casaverde, [email protected], (786) 469-9422

SOURCE Program for Public Consultation