In December 2009, the Center for Immigration Studies released results of a poll conducted by Zogby International. Among its findings: Many people of faith want overall immigration reduced, regardless of what their religious leaders are advocating on the issue. The findings drew criticism from the Public Religion Research Institute.

A March 2010 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found broad support across religious groups for comprehensive immigration reform and strong approval for clergy speaking out on the issue.

See an April 29, 2010, Gallup poll analysis of Americans’ views on the Arizona immigration law.

See a May 4, 2010, analysis of a USA Today/Gallup poll about public opinion on immigration reform.

See a May 4, 2010, story about a New York Times/CBS survey on immigration.

A Gallup poll released Dec. 10, 2010, shows that a slim majority of Americans polled, 54 percent, would vote for granting legal status to illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, which is the centerpiece of the DREAM Act.

The White House website has a fact sheet on the DREAM Act laying out the arguments for the legislation.

Ron Wolfson is a Fingerhut Professor of education at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. He was president of Synagogue 3000, which helps synagogues become a central part of American Jewish life. He wrote The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation Into a Sacred Community (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2006).

Alan M. Dershowitz is Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is considered “…the Jewish state’s lead attorney in the court of public opinion.” He wrote The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century (Simon and Schuster, 1998). In the book, Dershowitz writes that “All Jews should ‘return’ to religious […]