The number of U.S. adults who perceive refugees as a threat to U.S. security has declined over the past 10 months, according to the Pew Research Center.
More than half (55 percent) of respondents in April 2016 labeled refugees leaving Iraq and Syria in large numbers as “a major threat” to U.S. security.
By January 2017, that number had fallen 9 percentage points to 46 percent.
Responses varied by age, education and political affiliation, but every group saw a decline in the percentage of respondents who felt refugees were a major threat.
A 12-point drop in “major threat” responses was seen both among folks aged 18-34 and those 35-49. A 3-point decline took place among people aged 50-64 and 7 points among those aged 65 and older.
Republican respondents saw an 11-point decline – moving from 74 percent (April 2016) to 63 percent (January 2017). An 8-point drop took place among Democrats – 38 percent (April 2016) to 30 percent (January 2017).
The full report is available here.
