May 12 (Bloomberg) -- Almost three-quarters of Americans support a provision of a new Arizona immigration law that requires people to produce documents verifying they are in the U.S. legally, a survey said.

About 73 percent of those polled by the Washington-based Pew Research Center for the People & the Press said they approve of the plan, while 23 percent said they disapproved, according to the survey released today. About 67 percent said they agree with letting police detain anyone who can't verify their legal status, compared with 29 percent who disapproved.

When asked if police should be allowed to question anyone they think may be in the country illegally, about 62 percent said they approved and 35 percent disapproved. More than half, 59 percent, said they supported the new Arizona law as a whole, while 32 percent said they don't support the legislation.

Governor Jan Brewer signed legislation last month that makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and requires local police to determine the immigration status of anyone suspected of being in the country without proper documentation. The action sparked protests and calls for boycotts of Arizona.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/05/11/bloomberg1376-L2BFAP0D9L35-6.DTL#ixzz0nsNnQHPc