Following the lead of the United States Senate, most media coverage of the immigration debate misses the point.

For example, a recent Associated Press story noted that since both Presidential candidates support a path to citizenship, immigration reform won’t be a “major point of differentiation” between them.

In reality, arguing over the details and nuances of a “path to citizenship” is a secondary part of the debate for most Americans. If the public perceives a distinction between John McCain and Barack Obama when it comes to securing the border, that will be a significant “point of differentiation.”

Polling consistently and repeatedly shows that the highest priority for most voters is securing the border to reduce future illegal immigration. A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey released earlier this month showed that 63% of voters view gaining control of the border as the higher priority. Just 28% say “legalizing the status of undocumented workers” is more important.

A year ago, the United States Senate tried to pass legislation that focused primarily on legalizing the status of undocumented workers. While it had overwhelming support in official Washington, the bill failed due to massive public opposition. In the end, only 22% of American voters supported the legislation because hardly anybody thought it would reduce illegal immigration in the future.

A recent Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that 32% of voters are “angry” about the immigration issue. But, they are not angry at immigrants—most Americans favor a welcoming immigration policy. Even a majority of those who are angry about the issue favor a welcoming policy.

Voters upset about immigration are angry at the federal government (which may be the reason so many in Washington miss the point).

One reason for the anger is that Americans overwhelmingly believe immigrants should be encouraged to fully embrace America’s culture, language, and heritage. But, only a third believe that most government officials share this view. A plurality believes that most government officials encourage immigrants to retain the culture of their home country. In other words, voters believe the immigration debate is about more than the technical act of crossing the border--it’s also about what is expected of immigrants when they move to the United States.

This past weekend, both Barack Obama and John McCain spoke about immigration during appearances before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference. The Latino vote has been a key campaign battleground and recent Rasmussen Reports polling shows that Obama leads McCain among these voters by a 58% to 29% margin. That is a fairly typical result—no Republican Presidential candidate has ever won more than 40% of the Latino vote.

To Latino voters, there is more interest in legalizing the status of undocumented workers than there is among the general voting public. However, the key to addressing those issues is to recognize that no immigration reform will attract popular support unless voters are convinced it meets the basic goal of reducing illegal immigration in the future.