Immigration Reform News 2013: New Poll Shows Americans Split On Senate Reform Bill, Believe House Should Break Bill Into Individual Parts For Passage

A new poll released Tuesday by the Washington Post and ABC News on immigration reform was eye-opening in revealing the overall attitude on the complex issue that seems to have stalled on Capitol Hill as of late.

Controversy has surrounded immigration reform like an impenetrable fog since the "Gang of Eight" U.S. Senators introduced their comprehensive reform bill. But the controversy seems to be affecting the politicians involved in fighting for or against its passage more so than the citizens of this country that those politicians are fighting for.

When asked by pollsters that given what the interviewees know about the Senate reform bill, specifically the key tenets of border control and a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, 46 percent said they supported it, while 44 percent opposed.

The immigration law is now in the hands of those at the House of Representatives. In considering how they would prefer to see the House handle this issue, over half said they'd prefer the bill be broken down into individual pieces for passage, while just 32 percent were in favor of an up-or-down vote.

According to a report from The Hill, President Obama has been outspoken in cautioning against an approach where the bill would be sectioned off for separate votes. Obama warns that such a tactic could prolong or prevent the passage of important elements of the bill.

A major hurdle in getting the Senate bill passed in the House was the inclusion of a provision in which a path to citizenship would be provided for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in this country.

The House firmly opposes this provision and has made it clear that it would not pass any legislation that included said path.

However, 50 percent of those polled said they would be disappointed if the path to citizenship was not paved. Breaking that 50 percent down by race, 41 percent of Whites, 57 percent of African Americans and 83 percent of Hispanics would feel this disappointment.

The follow-up to that question inquired about who the interviewees would blame for that: Obama, for not winning the needed votes or the Republicans in the House for leading the opposition. By a 63-20 landslide, the numbers indicate that the Republicans would be responsible for bearing that blame.

According to a report from the Washington Post, Republican leaders have highlighted Hispanic outreach as a key part of their strategy for taking the White House in 2016. How the Republican-led House moves forward with immigration reform law could make it or break it for the party in the next election.