Poll: 2-in-3 Americans Oppose Releasing illegals into U.S. Interior

The majority of American voters oppose releasing border crossers applying for asylum into the interior of the United States while they await their court hearings, a new poll finds.

The latest Harvard/Harris Poll reveals that about 2-in-3 Americans, or 66 percent, said they oppose the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) releasing border crossers into the U.S. while they await their asylum claims process. Instead, voters said border crossers should be immediately turned back to Mexico while awaiting their asylum hearing.

Less than 35 percent of all voters said they supported releasing border crossers into the U.S. — including only 32 percent of swing voters and less than 30 percent of self-described “moderates.”

Meanwhile, nearly seven-in-ten swing voters, or 68 percent, said they want to see border crossers turned back to Mexico when they attempt to claim asylum at the southern border. Likewise, 85 percent of Republican voters and 55 percent of black Americans said they, too, wanted border crossers seeking asylum to be turned back to Mexico.

A plurality of U.S. voters, 47 percent, also told Harvard/Harris pollsters that they want the asylum system at the southern border to be tightened — a plan that has been endorsed by President Trump and previously enacted by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

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