POLL: Half of Americans Support Proposed Islamophobic Policies

By Kenrya Rankin Mar 30, 2016

A new poll from Morning Consult shows that in the wake of the March 22 Brussels attack, some Americans are embracing the Islamophobic policies proposed by the Republican presidential candidates.

The poll was conducted online March 24 through 26, using a national sample of 2,071 registered voters. When asked if they support a temporary ban on Muslims traveling to the United States—a policy that Donald Trump proposed back in December—50 percent of the respondents said yes. Thirty-eight percent said no, while 11 percent did not provide an opinion.

Things got even more interesting when the company parsed the data for political party identification. A third (34 percent) of Democrats support a temporary ban, while 49 percent of Independents and a full 71 percent of Republicans favor it.

And when it comes to Ted Cruz’s call to increase law enforcement presence in Muslim neighborhoods, the result is virtually the same. Nearly half (49 percent) of all respondents are on board, with 36 percent denouncing the idea and 14 percent saying they are undecided. Among Democrats, 35 percent agreed. Forty-six percent of Independents are in favor and 7 in 10 Republicans support the idea.

Additionally, 45 percent of the people surveyed agreed with the following statement: “The United States needs to stop tying its hands and start using enhanced interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, against suspected terrorists in order to defeat ISIS.” And 71 percent think tech companies, like Apple, should help the government access citizens’ personal data when national security is at stake.