Immigration Attitudes

The refugee crisis and the threat of terrorism are very much related in the minds of many Europeans. Across the EU there are also sharp ideological divides on views about minorities, diversity and national identity.

Among the vast majority of GOP voters who think that the growing number of newcomers to the U.S. “threatens traditional American customs and values,” 59% have warm feelings toward Donald Trump – with 42% saying they feel very warmly toward him. By contrast, among the much smaller share of Republican voters (just 21%) who say […]

Trump supporters have a distinct approach to global affairs.

Between 1994 and 2005, Republicans’ and Democrats’ views of immigrants tracked one another closely. Beginning around 2006, however, they began to diverge.

Public opinion data going back to the 1930s shows that generally speaking, Americans oppose large numbers of refugees entering the country.

The United States began regulating immigration soon after it won independence from Great Britain, and the laws since enacted have reflected the politics and migrant flows of the times. We looked at key immigration laws from 1790 to 2014.

About half of Republicans (53%) say immigrants coming to the U.S. make society worse in the long run, compared with just 24% of Democrats who say the same.

The nation's foreign-born population has swelled from 10 million in 1965 to a record 45 million in 2015. By 2065, the U.S. will have a projected 78 million immigrants.

Nearly nine-in-ten Hispanic Catholics (88%) say that undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements should be able to stay in the U.S.

Pope Francis has urged European Catholics to take in some of the thousands of migrants streaming in from Syria and other countries amid the world’s largest refugee crisis on record, and in his address to Congress today he urged leaders to welcome and respect immigrants coming to the U.S. But just how closely public opinion aligns with the pope’s […]