Fox News Latino, News Report, Posted: Mar 08, 2012

It's not a dinner table topic for many of them, or the sole issue that will influence whom they support for president in November.

But Latinos still listen closely to what candidates say about immigration.

A new Fox News Latino poll conducted of 1,200 likely Latino voters nationwide, under the direction of Latin Insights, shows that they care most about the economy when it comes to the presidential race.

Nearly 50 percent said jobs and the economy were the top issues for them - a markedly smaller group, 12 percent, consider immigration a top issue when choosing the President.

But immigration - and the tenor of discussions on the campaign trail about immigrants - clearly matters a lot to Latinos on a personal level. Indeed, for many Latinos, immigration is personal.

Nearly half of these U.S. citizens take offense at the term "illegal immigrant," some seven percent are neutral on the phrase.

More than half of the respondents say they feel U.S. immigration policy is too strict. And an overwhelming majority - 85 percent - would like to see undocumented immigrants have a chance to legalize their status.

A huge percentage, 82 percent, believe undocumented immigrants do work that Americans will not do. They feel the undocumented workers help expand the economy.

An overwhelming majority --nine out of ten-- also supports the DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented immigrants brought as children to gain legal U.S. residency if they attend college or join the military.

As President, Obama has not delivered on immigration reform, to the chagrin of many Latinos who have complained that he did not push the matter with the same drive and zeal that he did, say, healthcare reform.

Nonetheless, a majority of voters said in the poll that, if they were to vote now, they'd choose Obama over any of the Republican candidates, who all have taken hard-line stances on immigration and English as the official language.

Read more