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President Trump won the elections despite what many people may be surprised to hear is a pro immigrant bias amongst the electorate. A new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center - a non-partisan American ‘fact tank’ (as referred to by them) - has found that Americans are ‘more positive about US immigration than they have been in decades.’ Equally, US citizens are concerned about discrimination toward Muslims. Many survey participants also said they want an America that’s ‘engaged with the world.’
The study’s findings, which are based on telephone interviews with 1,502 adults across the country between November 30 and December 5, 2016, are a far cry from President Donald Trump’s apparent stance on US immigration, who has promised an ‘America First’ approach to the world.
Trump has said he will to get tough on illegal immigration and terrorists, even if that means taking unconstitutional actions like mass deportations and Muslim registries. As reported by workpermit.com he has also at times taken a liberal attitude towards immigrants.
There remain concerns that he may also bring in tougher immigration controls on L1 intra-company transfer visas and H1B specialty worker visas mainly used by Indians. Hopefully, other visas such as the E2 treaty investor visa, E1 treaty trader visa and B1 in lieu of H1B visa will remain unchanged.
The Pew Center report focused on the public perception surrounding Trump’s transition into power and provides a fascinating insight into how Americans view his cabinet appointments, the numerous concerns about his conflict of interests, opinions on the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), and much more.
Immigrants strengthen the United States say most Americans
Among its key findings, the Pew Center survey shows that more than six in 10 Americans say that ‘immigrants strengthen the United States because of their hard work and talents.’ This figure is the highest it’s been in more than 20 years of Pew Research Center surveys. Just 27 per cent of survey participants said immigrants were a burden on the United States.
Of the 27 per cent who said that immigrants put a strain on the country, they cited taking American jobs and the strain they placed on housing and health care, as reasons for being against immigration to the US.
Divisions within the Republican Party – also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP) – over the issue of US immigration are said to be generational, according to the Pew Center. Younger Republicans apparently look more favourably upon immigration to the US, while more than half of party members, aged 50 or above, view immigrants as a burden.
Meanwhile, most survey participants appeared to be pro-Muslim too. A significant majority – 57 per cent – believed that there is a lot of discrimination aimed at Muslims in the United States.
However, respondents recognized that tension over the issue of US immigration is high. 59 per cent of respondents said that strong conflicts exist between immigrants and native-born Americans. Meanwhile, a massive 85 per cent believe that there are ‘strong’ or ‘very strong’ conflicts over immigration between Democrats and Republicans.
Not Surprisingly Trump supporters are more anti-immigration
Below are some brief details of what Trump supporters think:
- About eighty percent of Trump supporters feel that immigration is a “critical threat” to the United States.
- Sixty percent of Trump supporters feel that illegal immigrants should be forced to leave the United States. Somewhat surprisingly Trump himself seems to have recently taken a more liberal view on illegal immigration.
- Over ninety percent of Trump supporters feel that there should be a wall on the border with Mexico.
- More than eighty percent of Trump supporters have a negative view of Middle Eastern immigrants compared to 29 percent of Republicans in general.
Trump’s Neo-isolationist message
Most Americans believe that the US still has an active role to play overseas. In contract Trump is reluctant to involve America in further political and military commitments abroad and says he wishes to focus resources at home
57 per cent think the ‘world’s problems would be even worse without US involvement.’ However, one-third think that US efforts to solve global problems usually results in making things worse.
The Pew Center survey, which appears to agree with a similar survey carried out by the Chicago Council – an independent, non-partisan organization that is interested in global issues – suggests that the US is in a ‘strangely ambiguous position,’ as emphasized by Hillary Clinton losing the Presidential election despite a large lead over Trump in the popular vote.
In many nations that have adopted an anti-immigration stance, like Hungary and Poland, the population seems to be more in agreement with the Government’s stance. However, many Americans don’t appear to share the same values as the President of the United States on immigration.
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