As Trump threatens ‘Dreamers’ deal, how NJ thinks about immigration

A new poll finds an overwhelming majority of New Jersey residents favor helping "Dreamer" immigrants become citizens.

A Stockton University poll asked people if they would support allowing so-called Dreamers, children brought here as undocumented residents, to remain in New Jersey and have a path toward citizenship.

About 75 percent favored the idea while 20 percent did not, according to Michael Klein, the interim executive director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton.

On the issue of overall immigration, Klein said opinions were divided.

“The poll finds 46 percent would keep immigration levels where they are, while 17 percent say more immigrants should be allowed, and 27 percent supported fewer immigrants to be allowed in.”

Former President Barack Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to provide temporary protection and work permits to hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally after being brought here as children. Trump ended the program last year, but gave Congress six months to pass legislation enshrining it. A deal has so far proved elusive and Trump has blamed Democrats.

President Donald Trump on Sunday declared "NO MORE" to a deal to help "Dreamer" immigrants and threatened to pull out of a free trade agreement with Mexico unless it does more to stop people from crossing into the U.S. He claimed they're coming to take advantage of protections granted certain immigrants.

"Mexico has got to help us at the border," Trump, holding his wife's hand, told reporters before the couple attended Easter services at an Episcopal church near his Palm Beach home. "If they're not going to help us at the border, it's a very sad thing between our two countries."

"A lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of DACA," he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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