A majority of people asked say the U.S. should suspend the Obama administration’s plan to resettle up to 10,000 Syrian refugees.
According to a new Bloomberg Politics poll, 53 percent of adults said the program should be put on hold, and 11 percent said they would prefer a program to accept only Syrian Christians, and not Muslims. Just 28 percent said they would keep the program in place with its current screening process.
The poll was conducted from Sunday through Tuesday, just as debate was ramping up over whether the U.S. should accept Syrian refugees after it was discovered that one of the Paris attackers was a refugee.
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2575923
The recent wave of attacks has put terrorism on the front burner for many. Thirty-five percent of those asked said terrorism is the top issue, matching the combined percentage of people who listed jobs, immigration, healthcare and the national debt.
The Islamic State, which took credit for the Paris attacks, is the top issue for 21 percent of Americans, up 11 points from September.
The poll also showed people are split on whether to send ground forces back into the Middle East to fight the Islamic State. Forty-four percent are for it, while 45 percent are against it.
Sixty-four percent of Republicans support sending U.S. troops, while 59 percent of Democrats oppose the idea. Democrats are also twice as likely to say they are confident that the U.S. is doing enough to protect Americans at home compared to Republicans.
The poll of 1,000 U.S. adults was conducted Nov. 15-17 for Bloomberg Politics by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, Iowa. The smaller sample survey of 628 adults who were asked about the Paris attacks was conducted Nov. 16-17. The overall sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, while the smaller sample carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
