Last month, the Supreme Court handed down an important, albeit potentially temporary victory for the Trump administration by allowing most of the executive order placing temporary travel restrictions on terror-prone countries to go into effect. The one caveat was that those with “clear ties” to family, business and/or organizations within the United States remain excluded from the restrictions. Despite the mainstream media harping on this exception, SCOTUS did in fact reinstate the crux of the orders, at least until the case is decided in full this fall. The Trump administration was more than happy with the result, and praised the unanimous decision as a victory for national security.
Now, according to survey results from Politico, a large majority of Americans back the travel restriction as it currently stands as well. According to the poll, 60 percent of likely voters support the State Department’s “new guidelines which say visa applicants from six predominately Muslim countries must prove a close family relationship with a U.S. resident in order to enter the country.” Only 28 percent opposed the measure.
In contrast to the way many pollsters word their surveys, the questions asked by Politico are better than what has become the standard for the mainstream media. The wording should ideally note that it is inherently difficult to vet immigrants from the listed countries, and that they all pose a significant threat of exporting terrorism. However, they were still better than what comes from most mainstream organizations, which purposefully frame their questions to elicit a response that skews toward less regulation on immigration. This particular poll avoided tying questions to President Trump directly; rather – and accurately – it described the guidelines as State Department measures.
Considering most surveys conducted by organizations independent of the mainstream media consistently indicate considerable support for the temporary travel restrictions, these results should be unsurprising. Americans simply want to rest assured that those who enter the United States will abide by our laws and values.