And a CNN/ORC International poll conducted in late September indicated 56% of registered voters said the main focus of U.S. policy on illegal immigration should be a plan to allow them to become legal residents, with less than four in ten saying the main emphasis should be deporting illegal immigrants and stopping more from coming to the U.S. That was a switch from last year, when only a minority said the main focus should be to allow illegal immigrants to become legal residents. Although Obama overwhelming won the Latino vote in the presidential election, he was criticized during the campaign for not forcefully pushing immigration reform during his first term in the White House. brian.bennett@latimes.com 
 
 Kathleen Hennessey in the Washington bureau contributed to this report.
– Once the fiscal cliff has been put to bed, immigration reform will reportedly be President Obama's No. 1 priority, and a series of surveys indicate most voters will be behind him. Some 62% of American voters support giving illegal or undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship, a new poll finds, while 35% oppose the idea. The Politico/George Washington University (PDF) poll echoes a November survey that found 57% backed the plan, with 39% opposing it; a September poll had similar findings, CNN notes. More of the poll's nitty-gritty: 74% of Democrats and 61% of independents support such a plan A plurality of Republicans are behind it, 49%-45% More than 75% of voters back the DREAM Act's effort to allow undocumented immigrants' kids permanent US residence if they finish college or serve in the military And while immigration may soon be Obama's most important issue, the same can't be said for voters; only 2% ranked it as their most important But his tackling it could move some voter numbers in his favor: Those polled currently disapprove of Obama's handling of immigration, 48%-45%