The online survey shows resistance to easing immigration laws despite the
biggest push for reform in Congress since 2007.

Thirty percent of those polled think that most illegal immigrants, with some
exceptions, should be deported, while 23 percent believe all illegal immigrants
should be deported.

Only 5 percent believe all illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in
the United States legally, and 31 percent want most illegal immigrants to
stay.

These results are in line with other polls in recent years, suggesting that
people's views on immigration have not changed dramatically since the
immigration debate reignited in Congress last month, according to Ipsos pollster
Julia Clark.

"It's not Americans' views that are shifting. It is that the political
climate is ripe for this discussion," after the November election when Hispanics
voted overwhelmingly in favor of Democratic President Barack Obama, she
said.

"Democrats feel that the time is right to capitalize on their wins and
Republicans feel that they had a bad blow and are eager to reach out to
Hispanics," she added.

Polls show that most Americans back immigration reform, although they often
have different ideas of what that means, with some people favoring looser
immigration laws while others want to see greater border security.

A group of eight U.S. senators are working on a bipartisan deal to enact
immigration reform, the first major attempt since a similar overhaul died in
Congress six years ago.

The senators' proposal calls for a full path to citizenship for illegal
immigrants once they pay back taxes and a fine and wait in line behind others
applying to become Americans.

A plan by Obama has similar provisions, but the senators want any move to
relax immigration laws dependant on boosting security on the southern
border.

ISSUE POLARIZES POLICYMAKERS

Attitudes toward immigration are polarized by party, according to another the
Reuters/Ipsos poll. Seventy-five percent of Republicans think all or most
immigrants should be deported, compared to 40 percent of Democrats who think the
same.

Republican Senator John McCain, one of the eight senators in the group, had
his own encounter with citizens angered by illegal immigration on Tuesday when
residents of his state of Arizona complained bitterly at a town hall meeting
about the lack of security on the border with Mexico.

One man asked why troops had not been deployed to the border.

"Why didn't the army go down there and stop them? Because the only thing that
stops them I'm afraid to say, and it's too damn bad, is a gun," the man
said,

Another resident, Keith Smith, got into a testy exchange with McCain, the
2008 Republican presidential candidate whose views on immigration have
fluctuated over the years.

"Cut off their welfare and all their stuff and they'll go back," Smith said,
referring to undocumented workers.

McCain had been trying to explain his position: "You're not telling these
people the truth. They mow our lawns, they care for our babies, they clean . . .
that's what those people do," he said.

The Arizona lawmaker, whose position on immigration hardened during the 2010
midterm elections before softening again, is a key part of the Republican side
of the senators' bipartisan immigration effort.

Wednesday's Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted Friday through Tuesday and
surveyed 1,443 Americans over the age of 18.

The precision of the Reuters/Ipsos online poll is measured using a
credibility interval. In this survey, the poll has a credibility interval of
plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.