The debate on immigration reform and enforcement is only one of several issues faced by Latino communities throughout the U.S., says a poll released Tuesday.

According to “an Associated Press-Univision poll of more than 1,500 Latinos,”

Hispanics worry more than most Americans about losing jobs and paying bills. They place a high importance on education and expect their children to go to college.

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America’s 47 million Hispanics face acute economic and political pressures.

The recession that erased millions of jobs has taken an especially heavy toll on Latinos, whose average income is lower than many other groups. And the Hispanic community has been jolted by election-season debate over the country’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, a debate that has increased in intensity following Arizona’s enactment of a law that requires police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person’s immigration status if officers have a reasonable suspicion he or she is in the country illegally.

About three-quarters of the nation’s illegal immigrants are Hispanic, according to the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center.

Just over half in the survey, 54 percent, say it is important that they change to assimilate into society, yet about two-thirds, 66 percent, say Latinos should maintain their distinct culture.

The Nielsen Company and Stanford University conducted the research and analysis of the national public survey launched in February of this year.