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Poll Shows 81% Of Americans Support Taking In Afghans Who Assisted U.S.

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This article is more than 2 years old.
Updated Aug 22, 2021, 03:22pm EDT

Topline

The vast majority of Americans in both parties support taking in Afghans who assisted the U.S. military during the war in Afghanistan, a new poll found, as more than a half dozen Republican governors express support for taking in Afghan refugees.

Key Facts

A CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday found 81% of the 2,142 U.S. adults surveyed said the U.S. should “help those Afghans come to the U.S.,” while just 19% said they should not.

Taking in those Afghans, who worked as translators, intelligence sources, drivers and in other support roles, has support from 90% of Democrats, 79% of independents and Trump voters and 76% of Republicans in the poll.

As thousands of Afghans who have applied for U.S. visas remain stranded in Afghanistan, 59% of respondents said the U.S. is not doing enough to help them, while 14% said the U.S. is doing “too much” and 27% said it’s doing the “right amount.”

Dozens of Republican lawmakers have expressed support for quickly evacuating Afghan refugees – as has former President Donald Trump, despite his hardline anti-immigration views – while at least nine GOP governors have pledged to resettle them in their states.

Calls to take in refugees have been widespread among Democratic lawmakers and governors, with the Congressional Progressive Caucus calling to “expand and expedite visas” and raise the U.S.’s cap on refugees.

Key Background

Approximately 22,000 Afghans have been evacuated by the U.S. military since the end of July, Major General Hank Taylor said during a briefing Saturday, adding that screenings and security vettings will be required “before they are allowed to enter the United States.” Screenings have so far taken place in third countries including Qatar and Kuwait, though the military reportedly plans to use several bases in the U.S. to screen Afghans as well.

Big Number

50,000-65,000. That's the estimated range President Joe Biden gave during an ABC News interview last week when asked how many Afghan allies the U.S. is planning to take in. As many as 88,000 Afghans are in the application process for a special immigrant visa, according to advocacy group Association of Wartime Allies, while some groups have called to take in hundreds of thousands.

Chief Critic

Some prominent Republicans have criticized plans to take in thousands of refugees, including Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-Wisc.) and Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), Senate candidate J.D. Vance and former Trump aide Stephen Miller. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is one of the few Republican governors expressing hesitation, tweeting last week that the refugees need to be “thoroughly vetted” but that she lacks “confidence in the Biden Admin’s vetting process.”

Tangent

The poll found Biden is garnering poor marks for his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which left thousands of Americans and Afghans stuck in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan after a shockingly rapid conquest by the Taliban. Biden’s approval rating dropped from 58% in July to 50% in August, with only 47% saying they approve of how Biden is handling the withdrawal even as 63% say they support the withdrawal itself.

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