Immigration Reform Leading Issue as Obama Takes Oath of Office

As President Barack Obama took his fourth official oath of office at the White House on Sunday, a new CNN/ORC poll released on Tuesday 22nd January also demonstrates the Americans’ support of Obama’s immigration plans, including a clearer set path to citizenship.

With Chief Justice John Roberts administering the short oath ceremony which has historically been held on the 20th January, the public event was scheduled for the following day due to the 20th falling on a Sunday this year.

According to the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia were in attendance at the private ceremony; however his public inauguration had an audience estimated at around one million.

As a moment which would turn the page on years of struggle with US immigration, Obama invoked a unity plea between both politicians and his nation, calling for “collective action” to confront the challenges that lay ahead.

The American nation seems to be hearing President Obama’s calls, according to a CNN poll released on the heels of his inauguration this week. Out of more than 800 Americans, asked via telephone on the 14th and 15th of January, 53% of respondents think that the federal government should provide a route to citizenship in their immigration reform efforts, as an alternative to deportation.

43% of respondents opted for the latter. These statistics reflect a change in mentality from a similar 2011 poll, when 55% of Americans felt that the policy should be focused on deportation and preventing undocumented individuals from entering the country.