The poll of 500 Hispanic registered voters, both immigrants and U.S-born, was conducted by the independent research firm Latino Decisions and co-sponsored by Spanish language media company ImpreMedia.
"Our poll suggests immigration politics are now key to Hispanic voters," said Gary Segura, a professor of political science at Stanford University who runs Latino Decisions.
A poll conducted last November of the Hispanic voters by the research group November found 49% of all respondents put the economy and jobs first. Immigration was cited as the main concern by 23%.
As states like Georgia, Alabama and Arizona continue to pass tough laws to curb illegal immigration, "this issue is going to continue to resonate with this electorate," said Mr. Segura.