Opinion: New poll explores views on illegal immigrants

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By virtually any measure, the spotlight on the immigration issue is growing brighter and more intense in U.S. politics. And if politicians in both major parties often have been providing confused and tortured answers to questions on the subject, a new L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll shows conflicts among the public at large, as well.

We won’t reveal the precise findings here; a story on the survey will post on our website about 4 p.m. (PST) and will appear in Thursday’s print editions. But the poll reveals that public opinion is fractured on such matters as the impact illegal immigrants have on a community and the most effective measures to stem theit flow into this country.

The poll asked other related questions, including whether illegal immigration was one of the nation’s most pressing problems.

The tricky nature of the immigration issue was driven home Tuesday for Republican Mitt Romney (as you can read here) and a raft of the Democratic presidential candidates (as you can read here).

-- Don Frederick