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Most Say ‘No’ to Syrian Refugees In Their State

President Obama says the Syrian refugees he hopes to move here are no more dangerous than tourists. The governors of more than two dozen states, citing the links between those refugees and the weekend massacres in Paris, aren’t convinced and have asked the president not to settle them in their states.

Sixty percent (60%) of Likely U.S. Voters oppose the settling of Syrian refugees in the state where they live, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 28% favor their state taking in those refugees. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The president is still planning to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees into this country next year with more to follow, but only 23% favor allowing those refugees to come here at all. Sixty-three percent (63%) oppose Obama’s plan, while 14% are undecided.

In early September when the president first announced that the United States will take in up to 10,000 Middle Eastern migrants to help alleviate the illegal immigration crisis now besetting Europe, 36% favored the plan, and 50% were opposed.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of voters are now concerned that giving thousands of Syrians asylum poses a national security risk to the United States, with 52% who are Very Concerned. This marks even more concern than voters expressed two months ago. Just 21% don’t share that concern now, but that includes only seven percent (7%) who are Not At All Concerned.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on November 17-18, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Voters remain less confident of their safety here at home than they have ever been, and that’s according to a survey Rasmussen Reports took before the events in Paris.  

The majority of voters across most demographic categories oppose both the president’s overall refugee plan and the settlement of Syrian refugees in their state. But the older the voter, the more likely he or she is to be opposed to both ideas.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of Republicans and 63% of voters not affiliated with either major party oppose allowing Syrian refugees in their state. Democrats by a 48% to 38% margin disagree and support the settlement of those refugees where they live.

Voters in the president’s party are almost evenly divided over his plan to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to America next year. Eighty-three percent (83%) of GOP voters and 66% of unaffiliateds are opposed.

But then 73% of Republicans and half (49%) of unaffiliated voters are Very Concerned that these Syrian refugees pose a national security risk. Just 37% of Democrats agree.

Among voters who oppose settling Syrian refugees where they live, 76% are Very Concerned that they pose a national security risk. Among those who favor having the refugees as their neighbors, just 16% see a national security danger.

Obama and the Democrats running for the presidency including Hillary Clinton won’t say the phrase, “radical Islamic terrorism.” Republicans say if you can’t say it, you can’t begin to win the War on Terror. Rasmussen Reports will tell you tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Eastern whether voters think the United States is at war with radical Islamic terrorism.

Clinton is expected to lay out her strategy for dealing with the radical Islamic group ISIS in a major speech today. Our latest monthly Hillary Meter finds that Democratic voters are more convinced than they have been in months that Clinton will be their nominee.

Donald Trump, the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, has been highly critical of the president’s handling of ISIS and his refugee plan. Among voters who think Trump is Very Likely to be the GOP nominee, 82% oppose bringing the Syrian refugees here.

Among voters who Strongly Approve of Obama’s job performance, 56% favor allowing 10,000 Syrians to come to America next year.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of all voters believe giving thousands of Syrians asylum will make America a more dangerous place, according to a Full Measure/Rasmussen Reports survey last month. Seven percent (7%) think bringing in that many refugees from the war-torn country will make America safer, while 25% say it will have no impact on national security.

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of voters consider ISIS a Very Serious threat. Forty-nine percent (49%) feel the federal government is not devoting enough attention to the potential threat of domestic Islamic terrorism. Both of these findings came before the weekend of terror in Paris.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on November 17-18, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

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