Two-thirds of Americans support accepting Ukrainian refugees into US: poll

Roughly two-thirds of Americans say they support the U.S. accepting Ukrainian refugees into the country as Russia’s invasion runs into its second month, a new poll found.

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released on Thursday found that 67 percent of Americans surveyed favor the U.S. accepting refugees from Ukraine, compared to 21 percent who are neutral about it and 13 percent who oppose. 

A majority of Americans also back providing humanitarian support to Ukrainian refugees, with 82 percent of respondents saying they favor doing so, and providing weapons to Ukraine, with 64 percent expressing support.

The White House announced on Thursday that the U.S. would be accepting up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in the country through a mix of its refugee program, humanitarian parole and family-based visas. 

The development comes, however, as President Biden continues to suffer low approval ratings when it comes to his response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The AP-NORC poll found that 56 percent of Americans surveyed believe that Biden has not been tough enough in his response to the Russian invasion, while 36 percent say his response has been about right. Six percent believe his response has been too tough.

Biden is expected to meet with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday, as well as making remarks. The White House has held firm ahead of his trip that he would not be able to visit Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict.

On Friday, Biden said he was disappointed he could not travel to Ukraine.

“Quite frankly, part of my disappointment is that I can’t see it firsthand like I have in other places,” Biden said on Friday while in Poland, according to The Washington Post. “They will not let me — understandably, I guess — cross the border and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine.”

The AP-NORC poll was conducted between March 17 and March 21, with 1,082 adults surveyed. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points, with a 95 percent confidence level.