"The politicians in D.C. are misreading this reality."
Have you seen any polls lately showing how Hispanic citizens feel on illegal immigration.
I think you will say "no."
Is it likely that no poll lately targeted Hispanic citizens on this question?
I think you will say "no."
So why haven't we seen the polls?
IMO, they are intentionally trying to keep the idiots in Washington unaware of the feelings of Latino's/Hispanics.
Here's one that dates into 2005 from PEW. I'm a sceptic of the fairness of PEW, but even so, they are more likely to split against the conservative position than the Dems. So the numbers are telling in that respect.
http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/52.pdf
Here's a site that dates from 2001 to the '90's about sentiments. I bring this forward because it doesn't seem opinions have shifted too much despite more focus on the issue.
http://www.npg.org/factsheets/imm_americans_spoken.html
These do seem to back up my discussions with Hispanics though. They aren't a monolithic pro- illegal immigration block as people are assuming. This is no 90/10 split as with the black community in elections.