President Barack Obama’s job approval among Hispanics dropped to new lows in May after Arizona’s controversial new immigration law drove the issue of comprehensive reform back into the national spotlight, according to Gallup.
The law, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer in late April, “may have only intensified Hispanics’ desire to see quick action on comprehensive national reform legislation,” writes Gallup’s Lydia Saad in an analysis posted today on the polling company’s website.
Reaction to the law, as well as to the president’s comments that such reform would likely be politically impossible this year, kept Obama’s approval rating among Hispanics below 60 percent throughout May. His approval among the group averaged at 69 percent in January.