Americans overwhelmingly agree with President Barack Obama's decision not to deport thousands of young undocumented immigrants, according to a new Bloomberg poll.
The survey, conducted by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, found 64 percent of likely voters backed the plan, while 30 percent did not.
56 percent of likely Republican voters were opposed, but 86 percent of Democrats favored the initiative. 66 percent of independents agreed with the plan, and 26 percent did not.
Obama announced Friday a directive to the Homeland Security department. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney criticized the process, saying a longer-term solution was more appropriate.
Both Obama and Romney are scheduled to speak later this week at a convention of Latino elected officials in Orlando, Fla.
The directive has helped garner enthusiasm among Hispanic voters, a key bloc in November. Obama won the Latino vote by more than 2 to 1 in 2008, but there were concerns this time about how enthusiastic voters might be. A separate poll released Monday showed enthusiasm had grown.
The Bloomberg survey polled 734 voters. Margin of error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.