A Pew Hispanic Center poll indicates a nationwide backlash against illegal immigration has created divisions among Latinos in the United States. The poll also reveals increased concerns Latinos, including those born in the United States or who immigrated legally, will suffer discrimination. About four-fifths of the country's estimated 11.1 million illegal immigrants are Hispanic, and Latinos are divided on how they should be handled, Pew Research Center project officials said. Fifty-three percent say they should pay a fine but not be deported, 13 percent say they should be forced to leave the country and 28 percent say they should go unpunished. Hispanics were nearly evenly split on the impact of illegal immigration had on Latinos already living in the country. Twenty-nine percent say the impact has been positive, 31 percent say it has been negative and 30 percent say it has had no impact.
The results contrast sharply to opinions expressed by Hispanics in 2007, in which 50 percent said the impact was positive and only 20 percent said it was negative. Sixty-one percent of Latinos say discrimination against Latinos is a "major problem," while in 2007, 54 percent said that. READ MORE
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