WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Nearly half of American voters are opposed to a bill combining protections for illegal immigrants brought to the country as children with funding for President Donald Trump's proposed wall on the southern border, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll.
The poll found that 49 percent of voters would oppose a bill protecting the illegal immigrants known as Dreamers and funding the border wall, while 39 percent would support such a bill.
A majority of Republicans support a Dreamer/wall combination bill, while majorities of Democrats and Independents are opposed.
The results of the poll suggest the opposition to a combination bill does not reflect resistance to the idea of allowing the Dreamers to remain in the U.S.
Seventy-three percent of voters support allowing the Dreamers to remain in the U.S., including 49 percent of Republicans.
The release of the poll comes as the debate over immigration has emerged as a sticking point as lawmakers attempt to avoid a government shutdown.
House Republicans have passed a short-term spending bill that does not include protections for Dreamers, but Democrats have demanded that the issue be addressed.
Meanwhile, Trump has demanded that any Dreamer bill include funding for his controversial border wall while also ending chain migration and the diversity visa lottery system.
'While Washington roils over what formula will bring sense to the raucous and ugly immigration debate, voters put it simply: Dreamers should be allowed to live the dream,' said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
The Quinnipiac survey of 1,212 voters was conducted January 12th through 16th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
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