Poll: Majority of Arizona voters support types of provisions in controversial immigration law

Poll: Ariz. voters favor immigration enforcement

PHOENIX — A poll released Wednesday found that an overwhelming majority of Arizona voters support the types of provisions that are at the heart of a national debate involving the state’s immigration law.

The survey conducted on behalf of Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy found 81 percent of registered voters approved of requiring people to produce documents that show they’re in the country legally.

It found that 74 percent believe police should be allowed to detain anyone who’s unable to verify their legal immigration status, and 68 percent say police should be allowed to question anyone suspected of being in the country illegally.

The survey of 614 registered voters was conducted July 16-Aug. 6 and has a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Halfway through the poll’s duration, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton put the law’s most controversial portions on hold.

Bolton blocked contentious provisions that required immigrants to obtain or carry immigration registration papers, and one that required police, while enforcing other laws, to question people’s immigration status if there is a reasonable suspicion they’re in the country illegally.