Aug. 12 (UPI) — A majority of Americans believe its important to increase the number of judges handling asylum cases at the border and provide safe and sanitary conditions for asylum seekers, according to a Pew Research study released Monday.
The poll conducted July 22-Aug. 4, found that 38 percent of Americans believe the federal government is doing a very bad job of dealing with an increased number of people seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, while 27 percent believe the government is doing a somewhat bad job and 33 percent said they are doing a good job.
Respondents identified increasing the number of judges handling asylum cases as the most important issue with 86 percent saying it was important, including 52 percent who said it was very important and 34 percent who found it somewhat important.
Democrats placed a greater emphasis on increasing the number of asylum judges, with 58 percent describing it as a very important step to take in comparison to 45 percent of Republicans.
Nearly as many respondents agreed that providing safe and sanitary conditions to asylum seekers should be a priority, with 82 percent saying it is important. Fifty-two percent of respondents identified asylum conditions as a very important issue, while 30 percent said it was somewhat important.
Democrats showed more support for providing safe and sanitary asylum conditions, with 71 percent citing it as an important issue and 20 percent saying it was somewhat important, while 32 percent of Republicans found it very important and 41 percent said it was somewhat important.
The two parties were also deeply split on whether the U.S. government should make it easier for asylum seekers to be granted legal status. Thirty-seven percent of Democratic respondents said it is very important to make it easier, while 40 percent of Republicans said it is very important to make it harder.
