Utahns overwhelmingly support both Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s plan to build an alliance with Mexico and his promise to Mexican President Vicente Fox that he'll tackle the illegal immigration issue.

That's according to a new poll taken for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV that found 78 percent of residents surveyed favor the governor's proposed alliance — while even more, 85 percent, believe his focus on immigration issues is important.

The statewide poll, conducted by Dan Jones & Associates July 26-28, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.

Not surprisingly, Huntsman was pleased with the results. "He's just really, really gratified that it appears the public feels as strongly about these issues as he does," his spokeswoman, Tammy Kikuchi, said Monday.

Both issues were raised during the governor's four-day visit to Mexico City in July. While there, he met with the Mexican president and other leaders to pitch an alliance on trade and tourism as well as cultural and education exchanges.

But it was immigration that kept coming up, so the governor added to his pitch a pledge to Fox that he would take the lead on searching for solutions. Huntsman has said he hopes to involve the Western Governors' Association.

So far, there are no specifics on either the alliance or the association's involvement with immigration, although Huntsman has said governors from at least two states, New Mexico and South Dakota, have expressed interest.

"Now it will take the good work of a whole lot of people to bring the ideas into fruition," Kikuchi said. "One thing the governor is so good at doing is bring the sides together. . . . They can be very polarizing topics."

The head of a group opposed to illegal immigration said he wasn't surprised at the poll results since no one is talking about specific proposals yet. "The devil is in the details," said Mike Sizer, chairman of Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement.

"We can no longer ignore the problem of illegal immigration. I see 85 percent of the residents of Utah agree with that," Sizer said. "I don't believe President Fox, Vicente Fox, has the same ideas on immigration reform that the residents of Utah do."

Joe Reyna, a regional president of Zions Bank and the incoming chairman of the board of directors of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said Utahns should keep in mind how much money could be at stake with the alliance.

"All we hear are that all these illegals come across the border," Reyna said, instead of the billions that Mexican investors are pouring into foreign economies. "The alliance is a way for the governor to open some of those doors and grab some of that investment money for Utah."

However, he said there's only so much the governor can do on the immigration issue. "It's not his job," said Reyna, who campaigned for Huntsman and accompanied him to Mexico City.

It appears clear, though, why Huntsman was willing to offer his help to the Mexican president. "For President Fox to hear the Utah governor is going to push an agenda for immigration reform," Reyna said. "For President Fox, that's music to his ears."

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