Congress sees bump in approval among Latinos
As Congress continues negotiations for hammering out a bipartisan bill to overhaul the nation's immigration system, a new poll shows Congress getting a major boost in support from Latino voters - suggesting a potential sense of encouragement among Hispanics about the prospects for meaningful immigration reform.
According to a new poll from the Washington Post/ABC News, which surveyed 1,014 adults from March 20-24, Congress now has a 56 percent favorability rating among Latino voters, far higher than the chamber's overall favorability rating, which is just 30 percent. Sixty-five percent of all Americans view Congress unfavorably, according to the survey.
Moreover, the current numbers denote a 19-point jump in congressional popularity among Latinos since November 2011, when only 35 percent said they viewed Congress favorably.
A spokesperson for ABC did not immediately respond to a request for information about the number of Latino voters sampled in the poll.
President Obama is ramping up his push for immigration reform, which he's cited as one of his top priorities for his second term. Today, he's doing interviews with Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Univision, and he recently presided over a naturalization ceremony in Washington as a platform for reiterating his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform.
Despite a sense of bipartisan commitment among lawmakers to pass an immigration law that will satisfy both political parties, the process of actually doing so remains difficult. So far, the negotiating process has been slow-going, and no bill has yet made it to the House or Senate floor.
