As the numbers of undocumented children entering the United States have surged through the summer, nearly double the percentages of U.S. Hispanics have decided immigration is the country's most important issue.

According to a survey by market analyst Gallup, Hispanics naming immigration as the nation's top problem rose from 13 percent to 25 percent between the first half of the year and the past three months, while the perceived importance of immigration rose from 4 to 15 percent among all adults.

Meanwhile, the study, which sampled 3,062 adults in July, August and September, discovered that, aside from their differing focuses on immigration, there's little other difference in how U.S. Hispanics and all Americans describe their nation's challenges, according to the Gallup study.

Political observers predict the turnout of Hispanic voters to be crucial in several key U.S. Senate races during the midterm elections in November.

Yet, despite the that marked boost in Hispanic sentiment over the immigration issue, some Democrats, the Gallup release said, "have been less than willing to make the subject a major plank of their campaign. But this is, as always, a complicated topic that has put Democrats in a tough spot."

Put another way, even though 54 percent of Hispanics in the total January-September sample leaned or identified with the Democratic Party, about 29 percent identified with or leaned toward a Republican viewpoint, and immigration is now more likely to be a top concern among all Republicans.

Gallup said that in the past three months, 20 percent of adults nationally who self-identify as Republican named immigration as a top issue, compared with 8 percent of Democrats.

That compares to numbers collected in the first half of the year that showed 4 percent of Republicans and 3 percent of Democrats identifying immigration as the country's most important problem.

It was reported earlier in the year President Obama administration was considering a series of executive actions that would ease the number of deportations.

However, amid pressure from vulnerable Senate Democrats in states such as North Carolina, the administration has backed off announcing such measures.