The poll also found that 44 percent of voters think that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should declare a border emergency. Among Republicans, 62 percent favor the move, while 35 percent of Democrats and 35 percent of Latino voters support the declaration.

Arizona and New Mexico declared states of emergency along their borders in August, citing increased crime and illegal immigration. Some California lawmakers have called on Schwarzenegger to do the same.

Voters by a 56 percent to 41 percent margin oppose civilian border patrols, according to the poll. Patrols were assembled by the so-called Minuteman Project in Arizona, with hundreds of volunteers on the lookout for illegal aliens crossing the border. But support for patrols in California is strongest in areas closest to the Mexican border.

Field Poll’s Mark DiCamillo said: "The closet to home you get, it seems like it’s a more urgent problem.”

Editor's note:
Dick Morris Reveals Schwarzenegger’s "Bold Agenda" – Click Here Now
Join the U.S. Border Patrol! Click Here Now.

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