Voter interest in changing the nation's immigration laws remains high after the 2006 midterm elections, according to an April poll released by the National Immigration Forum and the Manhattan Institute, whose Tamar Jacoby assesses the issue's political weight in in this Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

The nationwide poll, conducted by Democratic polling firm Lake Research Partners and Republican polling firm The Tarrance Group, found that 75 percent of those polled favored what it described as a comprehensive change to immigration laws: better border security, tougher workplace enforcement, temporary work permits, and earned citizenship. It said the results are in line with a sampling of other recent polls taken on immigration issues published here (PDF format).

"Voters are clearly laying this issue at the feet of Congress and will not accept gridlock or partisan bickering. Doing nothing is not an option," said Frank Sharry, NIF's director.

Where do the candidates stand on immigration? Here's a snapshot.

Democrats

Biden

Sen. Joe Biden supported the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which included a guest worker program with a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who have worked in the United States for five years. The bill also provided money to increase border security and enforcement, made it unlawful to knowingly hire, recruit, or refer for a fee an unauthorized alien and established a temporary guest worker program (H-2C visa) with a three-year admission and one additional three-year extension.

Clinton

Sen. Hillary Clinton supported the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. On her campaign Web site, she says, "Our current laws fail by not providing adequately for our national security. Also as a result of our broken system, many families are forced apart, unable to reunite with their spouses, parents, children, and siblings because of a shortage of visas. Our current system allows unscrupulous employers to skirt our laws and exploit undocumented workers in the name of cheap labor . As a consequence of our broken immigration system, there is a huge drain on our state social services, including financial strains on our local and state law enforcement. The situation leaves us with a lot of tough choices. We have a system that is broken and we have to find practical but fair solutions to fix it."

Dodd

Sen. Chris Dodd supported the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. "I agree with the president's stated goal of achieving comprehensive immigration reform this year," Dodd said recently in the Senate. "With over 12 million undocumented workers in our country, the American people expect Congress and this administration to find a workable solution to this longstanding problem -- one that protects American jobs and security while providing a pathway to earned citizenship for undocumented workers, many of whom play an important role in our economy. Unfortunately, last year, efforts to pass an immigration reform bill were blocked by the Republican-controlled House."

Edwards

When asked by The Associated Press on Jan. 25, 2004, whether the country should make it easier for illegal immigrants in the U.S. to gain legal immigration status, former Sen. John Edwards said, "We should reform the immigration system so there is a clear road map to legalization and citizenship for undocumented immigrants who work hard and follow the law. At the same time, we should work with our ally, Mexico, to better control the border and stop illegal trafficking."

Gravel

Former Sen. Mike Gravel told the New Hampshire Web site NH Insider, "The 10 plus million illegal immigrants living here should be put on the road to citizenship providing they do not run afoul of the law. To expel them would be national tragedy equaling the "Trail of Tears" of President Jackson. Our nation’s borders should not be fenced nor should they be militarized. We can beef-up the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard, if need be. However, the long term solution––and that is what really concerns us -- is the issue of helping Mexico and the Central American nations secure economic growth and prosperity at home. We need to do for them what American companies did for China. If they had jobs at home they would have little incentive to come here.

Kucinich

In a Jan. 25, 2004, interview with The Associated Press, Rep. Dennis Kucinish said was asked whether it should become easier for illegal immigrants in the U.S. to gain legal immigration status? "I will clear out the backlog in the naturalization process and offer immigrants a clear road map to citizenship. I will work with our partners in Mexico to normalize the flow of immigrants by forging an agreement on migration," Kucinich replied. He has supported a bill to assign up to 10,000 military personnel to assist in border control activities and has favored tougher sanctions on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Obama

In a speech on the Senate floor in April 2006, Sen. Barack Obama said, "Millions of undocumented immigrants live and work here without our knowing their identity or their background. We need to strike a workable bargain with them. They have to acknowledge that breaking our immigration laws was wrong. They must pay a penalty, and abide by all of our laws going forward. They must earn the right to stay over a six-year period, and then they must wait another five years as legal permanent residents before they become citizens. But in exchange for accepting those penalties, we must allow undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows and step on a path toward full participation in our society. In fact, I will not support any bill that does not provide this earned path to citizenship for the undocumented population--not just for humanitarian reasons; not just because these people, having broken the law, did so for the best of motives, to try and provide a better life for their children and their grandchildren; but also because this is the only practical way we can get a handle on the population that is within our borders right now." He supported the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006.

Richardson

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson supports comprehensive immigration reform. "I believe the American people are better than the demagogues think we are, and that the voters proved it on November 7th. The most extreme candidates lost across the country," he said on Dec. 7, 2006, in a speech at Georgetown University. "Congress should abandon the fence, lock, stock, and barrel," he said, adding that more border guards should be hired and trained, the best surveillance equipment should be made available to the military on the border, there should be "cash rewards for aliens who provide law enforcement with information on human traffickers and document forgers," and the government should work more closely with Mexico to find ways to foster an expanding exconmy in Mexico that does away with the need for Mexicans to emmigrate in the first place.

Republicans

Brownback

Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas currently makes no mention of immigration issues on his campaign Web site. He voted for a 2006 bill offering legal status to illegal immigrants subject to conditions, including English proficiency and payment of back taxes and fines. He also voted for border fence. In an April 12 interview he told The Associated Press, "I think you need the comprehensive reform, and you need enforcement, and you need to make the system simpler and allow more people in legally."

Gilmore

Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore supported a 2002 Southern Governor's Association resolution that would "provide an orderly, efficient way to import farm workers." Gilmore adopted a 2001 National Governors Association policy that asked Congress not to shift the cost of enforcing immigration laws to the states, and to "ensure that new immigrants do not become a public charge to federal, state, or local governments." On his campaign Web site, he said, "We will not be able to deal successfully with those who are in our country illegally until we have secured our borders and stopped the entrance of additional illegals. We must re-examine our existing immigration laws and develop a better program for temporary workers as well as requiring employers to verify workers are here legally."

Giuliani

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani favors tougher border controls and giving illegal immigrants already here an opportunity to earn citizenship. In the 1990s, Giuliani pushed for $12 million to start a city agency that would assist those seeking citizenship. He vigorously defended the city’s policy of forbidding city employees, including police and hospital workers, from asking a person’s immigration status. The New York Times quoted him as saying, "The anti-immigration issue that’s now sweeping the country in my view is no different than the movements that swept the country in the past." Past federal laws were part of "movements that encouraged Americans to fear foreigners," he said. In current speeches, he opposes deportation and favors tamper-proof identification cards.

Huckabee

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee favors allowing illegal immigrants to apply for legal status if they pay penalties, get guest worker permits, register with authorities and aren't allowed to jump in line ahead of other applicants. As governor, opposed banning state services for illegal immigrants. "There must be consequences for illegal actions for violation of our rule of law. I propose that such individuals should be required to register with state and federal authorities, receive guest worker permits, pay financial penalties and be given the choice of deportation or undertaking the process of lawful citizenship that does not allow them to cut in front of the line," he said on April 10.

Hunter

Rep. Duncan Hunter of California wants to deporting the millions of illegal immigrants now in the United States. He was also a sponsor of legislation authorizing construction of Mexico border fence. On his campaign Web site he says, "When you discover an effective deterrent to crime, you use it. I know fencing helps secure our nation's borders because criminal activity in every statistical category has been eliminated or decreased since we built the border fence in San Diego County."

McCain

Sen. John McCain of Arizona was a sponsor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which included a guest worker program with a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who have worked in the United States for five years. The bill also provided money to increase border security and enforcement, made it unlawful to knowingly hire, recruit, or refer for a fee an unauthorized alien and established a temporary guest worker program (H-2C visa) with a three-year admission and one additional three-year extension. In a speech to GOPAC on Nov. 16, 2006, McCain said, "We can do all that is possible to defend our borders from illegal immigration, and affirm the rule of law. When we have made these improvements, we must still recognize that job opportunities here and poverty elsewhere in the world will still attract immigrants desperate to improve their lives, and who will use increasingly desperate measures to do so. We can devise a rational and fair process, which protects our security and affirms America's promise as a land of opportunity."

Paul

"We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals," Texas Rep. Ron Paul says on his campaign Web site. He does not support granting citizenship to illegal immigrants already living and working in the country. "Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. That’s a lot of people to reward for breaking our laws," he says. He has supported a bill to make it illegal to tip off Mexicans about Minuteman Project locations, and a bill that would require hospitals to gather and report information on possible illegal immigrants before hospitals can be reimbursed for treating them. Romney

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has recently come out against the Senate bill sponsored by McCain, although he called it reasonable in 2005. Romney said he supports building a border fence with Mexico and stationing National Guard troops there, and favors penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington on March 2, he said, "The current system is a virtual concrete wall against those who have skill and education, but it's a wide-open walk across the border for those that have neither."

Tancredo

Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado opposes legal status for illegal immigrants and says illegal immigrants will "self-deport" if businesses are penalized for hiring them and jobs are unavailable. "Millions and millions will return home, if the thing for which they came is not available. If you cannot get a job or social service benefits here, what do you do?" he said in an interview with The Associated Press on April 13. Tancredo also favors deep cuts in legal immigration. "We are destroying the concept of citizenship itself," Tancredo said at the April 2007 Lincoln Day Dinner for Republicans in Iowa. "America, and indeed Western civilization, are in a crisis."

Thompson

People who are found to be in the country illegally should be returned to their home countries and should have to wait at the end of the line, behind people who are seeking to enter the country or become citizens legally, Thompson said on his campaign Web site. When the Senate announced a compromise immigration bill May 18, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson said, "Any legislation that provides amnesty to the estimated 12 million illegal aliens currently living in the United States is the wrong path for our country. You can call it anything you want, but this compromise has the look and feel of amnesty. The Senate should set this compromise aside and start by recognizing that there will be no amnesty or benefit to anyone who broke our laws to enter this country.”