Refugee Children

Before reading this poll, how much, if anything at all had you heard about the large number of unaccompanied children from Central America crossing the border?

Generally speaking, which of the following statements comes closer to your view about these unaccompanied children? (1) Most of them are refugees who are fleeing violence and poverty in their own countries. (2) Most of them are illegal immigrants whose parents are trying to exploit the US immigration system.

Do you support or oppose a bill in Congress that would allocate funds to care for the unaccompanied children that are being detained, increase the number of officials who can determine whether they should be deported, and return them to their countries if they are not allowed to remain in the United States?

Some people have pressed for officials to speed up the lengthy review process, regardless of the consequences for the children. Should the US follow current policy and be fair or, given the number of children, speed it up, even if it means some children who would be eligible for asylum are incorrectly deported?

The U.S. government is relocating some of these children from the border facilities where they were taken into custody while they wait for their cases to be heard by an immigration official. Would you be willing or not willing to have a small number of those unaccompanied children relocated to safe places in the St. Louis area?

In general, which comes closer to your view about how to handle undocumented immigrants who are now living in the U.S.? (1) They should not be allowed to stay in this country legally. (2) There should be a way for them to stay in the country legally, if certain requirements are met.

Do you have children?