Poll shows 66% of US voters oppose family separations

Sixty-six per cent of US voters oppose the administration's controversial policy of separating children from their parents who get caught crossing the country's border illegally, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll released on Monday.

Among those polled, 91 per cent of Democratic voters oppose the policy, compared with 35 per cent of Republicans. Only 7 per cent of Democrats surveyed support the policy, while 55 per cent of Republicans support it, reports Xinhua news agency.

The poll comes as pressure is building on Washington to act upon the family separation practice. Some Republicans have joined Democrats in denouncing the "zero tolerance" policy that has led to parents being separated from their children as they are prosecuted for illegal immigration.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families after illegally crossing the US border in April and May.

Half of voters say the Trump administration has been too aggressive in deporting illegal immigrants, as 13 per cent of voters think the White House is not aggressive enough, while 33 per cent of voters believe it is acting appropriately.

Illegal immigrants currently living in the US should be allowed to stay and eventually apply for citizenship, 67 per cent of American voters say. Another 8 per cent say they should be allowed to stay, but not become citizens, and 19 per cent say they should be forced to leave.

Fifty-eight per cent of voters oppose building a wall along the US border with Mexico. The only listed groups to support the wall are Republicans and white voters with no college degree.

Speaking at the White House Monday, US President Donald Trump said the country "will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility." He has blamed Democrats for the situation.

The poll, conducted from June l4 to 17, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points, with 905 voters surveyed nationwide through landlines and cellphones.

--IANS

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