Obama immigration decision boosts Latino support, poll says

GlobalPost

President Barack Obama's support among Hispanic voters has surged following his executive order to halt the deportations of young undocumented immigrants, a new poll shows.

The Latino Decisions-America’s Voice survey conducted in five key swing-states over the weekend shows that the policy change has made about 49 percent of Latino voters more enthusiastic about Obama.

More from GlobalPost: US to stop deporting young undocumented immigrants

A previous Latino Decisions poll had found widespread discontentment with Obama’s record 1 million deportations. In January, 41 percent of Hispanic voters said they had grown less enthusiastic about the president as a result, Bloomberg reported.

Obama on Friday announced that his administration would stop deporting undocumented immigrants who come to the country at a young age.

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The move drew praise from Latino leaders who have criticized Congress and the administration for inaction, but it outraged Republicans who said the shift amounted to amnesty and usurped congressional authority.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney offered support for easing deportations among young undocumented immigrants, but called Obama's executive order an election year ploy and avoided taking a clear stance on it, The Hill reported.

He would not say whether he would leave the order in place if elected in November.

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