A stunning new poll conducted by Harvard-Harris, exclusively for The Hill, found that the overwhelming majority of Americans, 80% in fact, believe that illegal immigrants arrested for crimes should be turned over to federal immigration authorities rather than being harbored in so-called sanctuary cities. Imagine that, Americans believe that local, state and federal law enforcement officials should actually enforce the law…shocking.
Meanwhile, 52% of those surveyed said they support Trump’s executive order to build a border wall and revoke funding for sanctuary cities while 53% said they support his “immigration ban” that was recently overturned by the 9th Circuit court.
Of course, this is undoubtedly unwelcome news for sanctuary cities across the country that are at risk of losing their federal subsidies for harboring criminal illegal aliens. As we recently pointed out, just the top 10 sanctuary cities receive roughly $2.3 billion in federal subsidies every year.
As Reuters reports, U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempt to strip municipalities of federal dollars for shielding illegal immigrants threatens $2.27 billion in annual funds for the nation’s ten largest cities, a Reuters analysis of federal grants found. While Trump has the authority to cut some kinds of funding to the cities, cuts to other federal funding would require an act of Congress. The total amount remains unclear, as federal money can be filtered through state governments or granted directly to social-service organizations or other groups. The numbers do not include federal money for law enforcement, which was excluded in the executive order, and programs like Medicaid, which are administered by state governments.
In other results, the poll found that 38% of Americans believe the 9th Circuit’s overturn of Trump’s immigration ban makes the country less safe while 51% believe that the cap on refugees entering the U.S. should be reduced.
A plurality — 38 percent — say the federal judge’s suspension makes the nation less safe. Thirty-six percent said the court’s ruling will have no impact, and 26 percent said it will make the country safer.Forty-seven percent said allowing refugees into the country has a negative impact on the nation, compared to only 33 percent who said it has a positive effect.
When voters are told that the U.S. is slated to receive 100,000 Syrian refugees, 51 percent said that number should be lower, 34 percent said it is an appropriate number, and 15 percent said the U.S. should allow more.
“While there is broad support for comprehensive immigration reform, there is overwhelming opposition to sanctuary cities,” said Harvard–Harris co-director Mark Penn. “The public wants honest immigrants treated fairly and those who commit crimes deported and that’s very clear from the data.”
“Americans support both comprehensive immigration reform and stronger vetting and reduced refugees — they want a mix of compassion, strong borders,” said Penn. “They see ISIS as the greatest threat to the country and that is spurring concerns about refugee migration.”
And, lest you think the poll was simply the reflection of a Republican “oversample”, The Hill notes that the online survey included 2,148 registered voters with a partisan breakdown of 39% Democrat, 30% Republican, 27% independent and 5% other.
And, of course, it didn’t take long for President Trump to share the polling data via twitter…
'Americans overwhelmingly oppose sanctuary cities' https://t.co/s5QvsJWA6u
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2017
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-21/new-poll-finds-80-americans-oppose-sanctuary-cities