Poll: 29 percent see migrant caravan as major threat to US

Twenty-nine percent of Americans say they see the migrant caravan, a group of thousands of Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries, as a major threat to U.S., according to a new poll.

However, 7 in 10 Americans surveyed said the migrants should be given the opportunity to enter the country, according to the Monmouth University poll out Monday.

{mosads}Of those surveyed, 24 percent said they see the caravan as a minor threat and 39 percent say it is no real threat to the U.S.

Monmouth polling director Parick Murray said that political rhetoric may be leading to some of the respondents’ concerns.

“Most of the public express some level of concern about the approaching caravan, some of which may be due to unsubstantiated claims that the group includes terrorists,” said Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. 

Hundreds of Tijuana residents on Sunday protested the arrival of the migrants, who have been making their way through Mexico on foot, The Associated Press reported. Residents chanted “Out! Out!” at the group, many of whom are staying in the Mexican city to make asylum claims in the U.S.

President Trump ahead of the midterm elections publicly lashed out at the caravan, referring to the group as an “invasion” and insinuating that terrorists might be traveling with the group as he requested the deployment of thousands of troops at the border. There are approximately 5,800 military personnel at the border awaiting the caravan’s arrival.

Critics claim Trump invoked the caravan to stoke anti-immigrant and xenophobic fears in order to galvanize his base right before Election Day.

The Monmouth University poll found that the states who share a border with Mexico were less likely to consider the caravan a “threat,” with around 21 percent reporting fears over its arrival. Residents of the Midwest, Southeast and mountain-northwest were more likely to view the caravan as a “major” threat.

A majority of Republicans, 54 percent, said they see the caravan as a major threat, while just 11 percent of Democrats and 28 percent of independents reported the same.

“As these trends show, the emphasis on immigration during the midterm campaign was not about winning over voters,” Murray said. “It was about reinforcing opinions that already exist. Few minds were changed by all the campaign rhetoric on this issue, but it certainly helped deepen the nation’s partisan divide.”