Washington ( CNN ) President Barack Obama 's policy of halting deportations for the undocumented parents of children born in the U.S. is popular -- but his method for implementing it is not . Only 26 % of Americans think Obama 's plan for those immigrants goes too far , while 50 % called it about right and 22 % said it does n't go far enough , according to a CNN/ORC poll out Wednesday of 1,045 adults , conducted Nov. 21-23 and with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points . However , when asked for their stance on Obama using an executive order to make those changes , just 41 % said they favor the move , while 56 % said they oppose it . Despite the limited backing for Obama 's action , the survey shows that Republicans might have a hard time gaining traction on the issue . It 's `` a classic case of good news/bad news for both the President and the Republicans in Congress , '' CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said of the results . RELATED : On the border with Obama 's immigration foes . Just 16 % of Americans are angry about Obama 's immigration move -- though another 27 % said they are displeased . Nearly one-quarter of Americans say it does n't matter , and 41 % say they 're pleased or enthusiastic about it . Support for a GOP lawsuit against Obama over his executive order comes from just 38 % of Americans , while 60 % say Republicans should n't challenge the move in court . Instead , 76 % said the GOP should spend more time passing immigration reform legislation -- something Obama repeatedly prodded his Republican critics , especially in the House , to do -- while just 21 % said the party should focus on overturning Obama 's policies . The results come as Republican lawmakers and governors grapple with how they 'll respond . Greg Abbott , the incoming Texas Republican governor , said he 's likely to announce a legal challenge to Obama 's executive order in about two weeks . And House members could push to limit funding for government agencies affected by Obama 's action as they debate budget measures in December . RELATED : Abbott : Texas readying challenge to Obama 's immigration action . The poll found that 49 % of Americans say Obama has the legal authority to loosen deportation policies on his own , while 48 % say he does n't . Obama , meanwhile , got a boost from young people and minorities for his handling of immigration after he announced his executive order last week . Approval of his handling of immigration jumped to 65 % from 50 % in September among non-whites , and from 39 % to 52 % among those between ages 18 and 34 . His overall marks on immigration also jumped , with 34 % of Americans approving of how he 's handling the issue in September and 44 % approving after last week 's announcement . That improvement , though , did n't affect Obama 's overall approval rating , which the poll found was at 44 % -- little changed from October 's 45 % . The survey also found evidence of support gradually increasing for easing U.S. policies toward undocumented immigrants and their families . It showed that 75 % of Americans say they feel sympathetic toward those immigrants and their families -- up from 67 % in 2011 and 52 % in 2010 .
A CNN / Forbes poll shows just 26 % of Americans think Obama 's immigration action goes too far . But , the poll shows , only 41 % of those surveyed support implementing the policy through executive order . The poll shows that Republicans could risk defeat by challenging Obama 's action in court .