AP POLL Courts correct to block travel ban, most say

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Most Americans say federal courts are acting properly in blocking President Donald Trump’s travel ban, according to a new poll conducted June 8-11 by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Two versions of the travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries have been put on hold by federal courts. Trump says the ban is necessary to keep would-be terrorists from traveling to the United States. Opponents, including some state officials, argue that it is intended to keep Muslims out.

Fifty-seven percent of Americans say the courts have acted correctly by blocking the travel ban from taking effect, while 39 percent say the judges are wrongly interfering. The poll shows a sharp partisan divide: 82 percent of Democrats say the courts acted rightly, while 73 percent of Republicans say they’re wrongly interfering. Among independents, 56 percent agree with the courts.

Trump initially signed an executive order in late January that banned people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Libya from traveling to the U.S., including legal permanent residents. It also blocked all refugees from being resettled in the U.S.

The original order was blocked in federal court and upheld later by an appeals court. A second order dropping Iraq also has been blocked, but the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to reinstate it, saying the United States will be safer if it is in place.

Sixty-two percent of responders did think trying to protect the US from security threats was a major reason, while 26 percent thought it was a minor reason and 11 percent thought it was not a reason at all.

On the other hand, 50 percent of people who responded to the AP-NORC poll (1,068 adults) said they think a desire to prevent Muslims from entering the country was a major reason for the ban, while 20 percent said it was a minor reason. Twenty-eight percent thought it was not a reason.

Those viewpoints also largely broke down along partisan lines. Sixty-four percent of Democrats, 46 percent of independents and 34 percent of Republicans say preventing Muslims from entering the country was a major reason for the travel ban. Eighty-seven percent of Republicans, 70 percent of independents and 41 percent of Democrats say protecting the country from security threats was a major reason.