A year ago, many Beltway pundits were stunned when May Day protests for illegal immigrants failed to move public policy in the expected manner. In fact, following the rallies, it was the Beltway debate that shifted as politicians realized the public saw the issue in fundamentally different terms than Congress.

A year has gone by and a smaller set of rallies were held yesterday, but public opinion has not changed.

When given a choice, 48% of Americans would opt for a Congressional candidate who “favors building a barrier along the Mexican border and forcing illegal aliens to leave the United States.” A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 36% prefer a candidate promising to “expand legal opportunities for foreign workers to find jobs.”

Sixty percent (60%) of Americans believe that immigration reform should include laws requiring that all government documents be printed in English. Just 29% disagree.

Republicans favor the candidate focused on controlling the border by a two-to-one margin. Democrats are more evenly divided. Among those not affiliated with either major party (a growing number), 47% prefer the candidate focused on controlling the border while 35% take the opposite view.

The overall results are essentially unchanged from attitudes measured a year ago. They are consistent with the general public view that it doesn't make sense to debate new immigration laws until we can first control our borders and enforce existing laws.

The latest survey also found that most Americans (56%%) oppose granting citizenship to the child of an illegal alien born in the United States. Just 35% believe citizenship should be granted.

By a similar margin, 55% to 29%, American adults oppose granting citizenship to parents of children born in the United States.

Last year, the immigration debate caught America's political class completely off guard and most national politicians made an incorrect assessment concerning the nature of the debate. The initial discussions in Washington implied a debate that was either pro-immigration or anti-immigration. Those who favored some form of legalization or earned citizenship were pictured in official Washington as pro-immigrant while those who favored border control were thought to be anti-immigrant (or perhaps racist). However, Rasmussen Reports data showed an entirely different picture.

Most Americans who favored enforcement first policies also favored a welcoming policy for legal immigration. In other words, most Americans recognized that our nation is both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. They wanted to uphold both aspects of our national heritage. Just as important, they want political leaders to remember the second part of that heritage--that we're a nation of laws.

During 2006, state-by-state polling found support for an enforcement-first policy topping 60% in all but one of thirty-three states.

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