by WorldTribune Staff, August 16, 2016
Americans are overwhelmingly against accepting a wave of Syrian refugees into the country, a new poll found.
Just 36 percent of U.S. voters support allowing the refugees to enter, according to a Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll released on Aug. 15.
The Obama administration is close to reaching its goal of allowing 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S. by the end of September.
Anne Richard, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, said earlier this month that 8,000 Syrians have already been re-settled.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has pledged to increase the number of Syrian refugees coming to the U.S.
The poll also found that, in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, 72 percent of Americans support continued airstrikes in Syria and 57 percent support sending more special operations forces.
Only 42 percent favor sending combat troops into Syria, while 52 favor enforcing a no-fly zone over Syria, including bombing Syrian air defenses.
The poll found voters have little enthusiasm for helping either Syrian leader Bashar Assad or the rebel forces opposing him.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs conducted its poll of 2,061 adults nationwide via online interviews from June 10-27. It has a 2.2 to 3.5 percent margin of error depending on the survey question.
GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump last year called for a ban on Muslims emigration to the U.S. until those coming in could be properly vetted. Trump has since modified his position to block immigrants from countries “compromised” by terrorism.
Poll: Few Americans support Syrian refugees entering U.S. added by World Tribune on
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