Poll: 66 percent of U.S. voters oppose family separations

Roughly two-thirds of U.S. voters oppose the Trump administration’s controversial policy of separating children from their parents who cross the U.S. border illegally, according to a Quinnipiac Poll released on Monday.

Sixty-six percent of those surveyed opposed the policy. The vast majority of Democrats surveyed – 91 percent – opposed the policy, compared with 35 percent of Republicans. Only 7 percent of Democratic voters support the policy, while 55 percent of Republicans support it.

The poll comes as both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have denounced the “zero tolerance” policy that has resulted in parents being separated from their children as they’re prosecuted for illegal immigration. President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on the policy and blamed Democrats for holding up immigration reform legislation.

Photos from facilities where children separated from their parents were being held also went viral this past weekend after they showed young immigrants in cages, lying on green mats and using Mylar sheets for bedding.

Half of voters believe the Trump administration is also being too aggressive in deporting undocumented immigrants. When broken down, 86 percent of Democrats believe the government is too harsh, compared with 10 percent of Republicans.

Thirteen percent of voters believe the administration is not aggressive enough while 33 percent of voters think the White House is acting appropriately.

In addition, 79 percent support the idea of allowing Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, to remain in the country and to ultimately apply for citizenship. Fifteen percent oppose that approach.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points, with 905 voters surveyed nationwide through landlines and cellphones.

The original story can be found here.