A new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 71 percent of Americans surveyed felt like the country was losing its national belief and value systems has now become unclear and that, in general, Americans are now less receptive to refugees and illegal immigration.
Among the 1,004 people surveyed, 47 percent of them said illegal immigration threatens the American lifestyle, while 15 percent think that any type of immigration is a threat to the way of life. Along the same lines, 57 percent believe that immigrants should assimilate to the United States’ “essential culture,” while 42 percent believe the U.S. should be ever-evolving culturally to include new immigrants.
Most people surveyed were fans of the fact that the United States is looked at as a safe haven for people around the world and always holds the possibilities of a better economy for newcomers. For the most part, those surveyed believe that legal immigration benefits the country as a whole.
But about half of the respondents said that illegal immigration and taking in refugees is a direct threat to the country, with more than half believing that the risks of taking in refugees aren’t worth the possible risks.
Less than half of the people surveyed are proud of the way democracy is currently working and more than half believe that the current level of division threatens the country’s “way of life and the same amount also believes that about the country’s political leaders.
