Poll: immigration pushing near top of public concerns

/9/2006 2:26 PM
By: Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- People are now about as likely to mention immigration as the economy when they are asked to name the most important problem facing the United States.

Though both rank behind war in Iraq and elsewhere, according to a new AP-Ipsos poll.

Immigration's rise in the latest survey about the nation's top problems suggests the public is keeping close watch on the immigration debate in Congress and reaction around the country.

Efforts in the Senate to pass sweeping immigration legislation faltered Friday.

It leaves in doubt the prospects for passage of a measure that offered the hope of citizenship to millions of men, women and children living in the United States illegally.

More than 11 million illegal immigrants are believed to be in this country now -- with thousands more coming in all the time.