Nearly 3 In 4 Americans Support Efforts To Provide Refuge For Afghans

Nearly three in four Americans support efforts to resettle Afghans who worked alongside the U.S., according to a survey released Monday.

This poll, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found bipartisan support overall, with 76% of Democrats backing the resettlement of Afghans compared to 74% of Republicans. Only 9% of Americans said they were opposed to Afghan resettlement in the U.S.

However, the poll revealed a stark difference when they asked the 1,099 surveyed if they would support resettlement of other people who fear living in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s rule. The support decreased to less than half of those surveyed.

Of those in favor, 57% were Democrats and 27% were Republican.

The A.P. poll comes weeks after the U.S. withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in a moment of intense chaos and despair as thousands of Afghans desperately tried to flee a nation controlled by the Taliban.

The withdrawal of the Kabul airport became represented by a single video: that of a 16-day-old baby girl who was passed through a razor-wire fence at the airport in an attempt to flee the Taliban and join her father who was supporting U.S. troops at the airport.

Some states have already started receiving Afghan refugees as part of President Joe Biden’s first phase of a massive resettlement operation that is expected to bring about 37,000 Afghan refugees, CBS News noted.

So far, the states receiving the largest number of refugees are California and Texas, with 5,255 and 4,481 refugees respectively.