Tuesday, September 22, 2015
The Obama administration announced this week
plans to increase the total number of worldwide refugees accepted into the United States to 100,000 by 2017 in response to the ongoing migrant crisis from parts of the Middle East into Europe. Few U.S. voters agree with this decision, perhaps in part because a sizable majority have national security concerns.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 49% of Likely U.S. Voters say they want the government to allow no refugees from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries into the United States. Another 20% only support President Obama’s initial proposal of allowing 10,000 refugees to resettle here. Just 22% agree with the administration's decision to allow in even more refugees, including seven percent (7%) who favor resettling 100,000 or more in this country. (To see survey question wording,
click here.)
These sentiments can partly be attributed to the 72% of voters who are concerned that giving thousands of Syrians asylum poses a national security risk to the United States, with 47% who are Very Concerned. Twenty-seven percent (27%) don’t share this concern, but that includes just 10% who are Not At All Concerned.