The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute released a report this week revealing 76 percent of Wisconsin residents oppose allowing illegal immigrants to apply for driver's licenses.

In addition, 86 percent oppose allowing illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition at University of Wisconsin schools, while only 46 percent oppose allowing children of illegal immigrants to attend public schools.

The data was collected Dec. 2-3 through a random sampling of 600 Wisconsin residents, Research Institute President Jim Miller said.

"Illegal immigration is a major issue nationally. There are a number of states who have already done reforms like the ones we asked about," Miller said. "It will almost assuredly be debated here in Wisconsin. And it's an issue we think people are concerned about in the state."

Statistics were further broken down to show how residents with different party affiliations, political viewpoints and living locations within the state reacted.

Conservative respondents strongly opposed each category. For example, 97 percent opposed allowing illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition. However, liberal respondents opposed the issue as well — 64 percent did not support the measure.

The city most open to the reforms was Madison — split on the driver's license issue and 61 percent of those polled were in favor of allowing illegal immigrants into public schools.

However, Madison residents, like those of the rest of the state, do not want illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition, with 64 percent opposed to such a reform.

John Murray, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, said the poll only firms up the speaker's stance on illegal aliens.

"This poll corroborates what many people believe in the Legislature — it is not right to allow illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition or driver's licenses," Murray said.

State Rep. Pedro Colon, D-Milwaukee, the first Hispanic person to be elected to the state Legislature, believes the poll was flawed.

In 1982, the United States Supreme Court in Plyler v. Doe ruled all children have a right to public education, regardless of immigration status.

"The researchers should have done their homework before they asked the questions," said Andy Janssen, Colon's chief of staff. "I'm not even sure why that question was asked. There are no numbers because we can't ask for immigration status in K-12 schools."

Colon also takes issue with the results because the poll asks if citizens would support "discounted in-state tuition" for illegal immigrants, implying they would have to pay less than in-state tuition.

"The fact of the matter is that these children came here because their parents brought them here," Janssen said. "Do we want to adopt policies that punish children for the illegal actions of their parents? A just society doesn't."

Miller said the Research Institute ran the study under the supervision of Diversified Research, a nationally recognized polling foundation.