A majority of Americans oppose the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and express views sympathetic to undocumented immigrants, according to a new Pew Research Center report released on Thursday Aug. 25.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the findings suggest most Americans are not aligned with the harsh anti-immigrant positions of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and could explain why in recent days he has appeared to soften his stance.
Building a “beautiful” wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to keep out undocumented immigrants is one of his core positions — and among the most popular with his supporters — and one from which he has not wavered.
This recent Getty Images file photo shows a section of existing border wall near San Diego, Calif. (PHOTO: america.aljazeera.com)
According to the Pew survey, 61% oppose building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. Even larger majorities of Americans expressed sympathy toward immigrants: 76% said that undocumented immigrants are just as “hard-working and honest” as U.S. citizens, and 67% rejected the idea that undocumented immigrants are more likely to commit serious crimes than citizens.
The study of 2,010 American adults was conducted between August 9-16.
Source: wsj.com
