Not much good news for the GOP in a new Rasmussen Reports Poll on what party America favors to handle illegal immigration: 42% favor Dems to 35% supporting Republicans. That represents a 13-point swing in two weeks (Republicans had a 37% to 31% advantage in Rasmussen previous poll, released April 11). On the upside for the GOP, the survey says that, among those who will vote based on immigration, Republicans hold a 10-point advantage. Here’s the Rasmussen analysis:

Before the immigration debate exploded on the national scene, Americans were evenly divided as to which political party they trusted more on the issue. After the earliest rounds of the debate, the GOP gained ground and were favored by a 37% to 31% margin.
Since then, Democrats have focused more attention on the enforcement side of the debate. DNC Chairman Howard Dean even stated that enforcement of the border is his party’s top priority. As a result, Democrats appear to have won round two of the debate among the general public–42% now trust Dean’s party more on this issue while 35% trust the GOP. .
However, while Democrats have gained ground, they still trail among the 53% of Americans who say that immigration is very important in terms of how they will vote this November. Among this group, 43% trust the GOP more and 33% trust the Democrats. To the degree that intensity matters, that’s good news for Bill Frist and his GOP colleagues in Congress.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Americans still favor building a barrier along the Mexican border (a number that jumps to 73% among those who consider the issue very important).
Just 26% of Americans have a favorable opinion of those who have marched and protested for immigrant rights. Fifty-four percent (54%) have an unfavorable view.