Poll: Majority of Republicans back family separation policy

A majority of Republicans support the Trump administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents when they are caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, a Quinnipiac University poll found.

Republican voters support the policy 55 to 35 percent, according to the poll released on Monday.

They are the only listed party, gender, education, age or racial group to support the policy, according to Quinnipiac.

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Sixty-six percent of American voters oppose the policy, according to the poll.

The Trump administration announced in April a “zero tolerance” immigration policy that required the federal government to prosecute adults caught illegally crossing the southern border.

The policy led to thousands of migrant children being separated from their parents because the parents had to be prosecuted.  

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said the policy was meant to deter immigrants from trying to cross the border.

On Monday, Sessions called on Congress to pass legislation to build a border wall so there would no longer be a need for the administration’s zero tolerance policy.

“President Trump has said this cannot continue. We do not want to separate parents from their children,” Sessions told the National Sheriffs’ Association annual conference on Monday. “If we build the wall, if we pass legislation to end the lawlessness, we won’t face these terrible choices.”

According to the Quinnipiac poll, 58 percent of Americans oppose building the border wall. However, 77 percent of Republicans supported building the wall, as did 52 percent of white voters without college degrees.

The poll surveyed 905 voters nationwide from June 14-17. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.