by James Bickerton

A new poll has found 44 percent of Californian adults would vote for the state to leave the United States and become a fully independent nation, which the Independent California Institute (ICI) told Newsweek is a “record high poll result for secession.”

The latest poll also found 50 percent of Californians said they trust state authorities in Sacramento more than the federal government in Washington D.C., with only 23 percent having the opposite view. This was a stark deterioration in the federal government’s position since the last ICI survey in January, which put the figures at 34 percent for Sacramento and 18 percent for Washington D.C. respectively.

In addition, 72 percent of Californians said they want state police to arrest federal immigration officials who “act maliciously or knowingly exceed their authority under federal law” while 80 percent want California to have stronger border controls “more like a country,” with checks for illegal guns and other contraband entering from other states.

Of those surveyed, 74 percent think there should be a pathway to state citizenship for long-term California residents who don’t hold American citizenship, and 71 percent think the state would be better off if it negotiated “special autonomous status” within the United States.

Read the full article in Newsweek.