In the face of inaction by the House, Julia Preston’s latest for The New York Times features PRRI’s Hispanic Values Survey findings in exploring debates among immigrants currently living in the United States illegally over whether to hold out for a citizenship-only legislative approach or to settle for more protections that stop short of citizenship.

The Senate bill includes a 13-year pathway for 11.7 million illegal immigrants that ends with a chance to naturalize. President Obama and other supporters of that measure insist that any alternative would create a disenfranchised underclass. Many House Republicans reject the Senate path as rewarding immigrants who broke the law. But a growing number of Republicans say they remain ready to work on immigration and could consider legalization, if it did not involve any direct route to citizenship…

Among Latinos, a growing electorate that both parties want to court, sentiment for a path to citizenship is strong. In a recent national survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, 67 percent of Latinos said immigrants here illegally should be allowed to become citizens if they met certain requirements, while 17 percent said they should only become legal residents.

For more, be sure to check out the full article over at The New York Times.