U.S. President Barack Obama
gained more support among Hispanic voters in key swing states with
large Latino population, following his recent policy shift to stop
deporting certain illegal young immigrants, said a new poll released
on Monday.
The joint survey by Latino Decisions and America's Voice polled
Latino registered voters over the weekend in five battleground
states key to this year's presidential election, including Arizona,
Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia.
When asked how they felt about Obama's decision announced last
Friday, 49 percent of Hispanic voters said it would make them more
enthusiastic about Obama, compared to 14 percent who were less
enthusiastic.
The Obama administration on Friday announced a major immigration
policy change that halts deporting certain young people brought to
the country as children and provide them with temporary work permit.
Ahead of Obama's announcement last Friday, many immigration
reform advocates had stated that the record high levels of
deportations of immigrants under the Obama administration was
causing some Latinos to grow weary about the Obama reelection
campaign, said Latino Decisions.
In a Latino Decisions and Univision News joint poll earlier this
year, 53 percent of Hispanic voters said they were less enthusiastic
about Obama in 2012 than they had been in 2009, while just 30
percent were more excited about the president. Moreover, ahead of
Obama's announcement, polls showed presumptive GOP nominee Mitt
Romney narrowing the gap with the president in those five states.
The immigration policy shift could further boost Obama's support
among Hispanic voters, which lead a decent margin over Romney.
Latinos are a growing demographic group that could play a
significant role in deciding who would become the next president,
particularly in several swing states, including Colorado, Nevada,
New Mexico and Florida.
Republican candidate Mitt Romney criticized Obama in an interview
aired on Sunday, saying the incumbent president's recent decision on
immigration policy is politically motivated in the election year.
Nearly 400,000 unauthorized immigrants were deported annually
during the first two years of the Obama administration, about 30
percent more than the annual average during the second term of the
Bush administration, said the Pew Research Center.
