A new national survey shows just over half of Americans — 53 percent — think the government should speed up the legal process for dealing with the Central American children who are illegally crossing the border, even if it means some who are eligible for asylum are deported.
Conducted by telephone with 1,805 adults in all 50 states from July 8-14, the Pew Research Center survey also found 39 percent support staying with the current policy, even though the process takes longer and allows the children to remain in the U.S. in the interim.
The survey — which has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points — also shows 28 percent approve of the way President Barack Obama is handling the influx of Central American children, while 56 percent disapprove.
Calling the surge of children on the southwest border an “urgent humanitarian situation,” the Obama administration asked Congress this week for $3.7 billion to respond to the crisis and speed up immigration court proceedings. The administration’s Republican critics in Congress are balking at the spending request, saying it won’t deal with the root of the problem. They are calling for changes in federal law to expedite the deportations of these children.
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