Immigration move boosts Obama among Latinos

President Obama’s approval rating has spiked 10 percentage points with Hispanic voters in the wake of his new executive action on immigration, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.

{mosads}Some 57 percent of Hispanic adults say they approve of the president, up from 47 percent in September. That increase was driven by younger Hispanics: of those aged 18-39, Obama’s approval has jumped from 46 percent to 63 percent over that time period.

Moreover, two-thirds of Hispanic voters now say they like the president’s immigration policy.

Late last month, Obama unveiled a program that offers deportation protection and work permits to many illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children or are the parents of citizens or permanent residents. An estimated 5 million people will be eligible for the relief.

The move drew harsh criticism from many Republicans, and Hispanic voters appear nonplussed. Fewer than a quarter of those surveyed give the GOP a positive approval rating, while 42 percent says they see the party negatively.

Just 27 percent of Hispanic voters say it would be better for the next president to be Republican, while 62 percent say the party is not doing a good job of addressing the concerns of their community.

That discontent is reflected when survey respondents were asked about specific Republican candidates — including those who are the children on Cuban immigrants.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) carries a 21 percent approval rating, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who over the weekend waged a lengthy procedural protest on the Senate floor objecting to the president’s immigration action, is seen positively by just 17 percent. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who this week said he was formally weighing a presidential bid, carries a 28 percent approval rating.

By contrast, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) is seen positively by 61 percent of Hispanic voters.