46 percent of Americans say Obama encouraged illegal immigration

Is Barack Obama’s administration to blame for a flood of illegal immigrant children at the border? A new poll from Rasmussen Reports shows that nearly half of likely U.S. voters say yes.

In all, 46 percent of those surveyed said the administration’s statements and policies have encouraged illegal immigration, while 31 percent disagree and 23 percent say they’re not sure.

There’s the usual split along party lines — 69 percent of Republicans say the administration has encouraged it, while only 23 percent of Democrats agree.

The administration also gets poor marks on how it’s handled thousands of illegal immigrant children crossing the border in recent weeks. Only 28 percent of those surveyed gave the administration a good or excellent rating.

Also, more than half of Americans (52 percent) say the government should send illegal immigrant children home as soon as possible.