3 in 4 say international students benefit US: Poll

A new poll released Wednesday shows nearly three-quarters of voters say international students benefit the U.S.

The study, conducted by Quinnipiac University, said 74 percent of respondents think foreign students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities are a good thing for the country, while 17 percent said they think it is a bad thing for the U.S.

The poll follows the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and the detainment of various foreign students at universities across the country.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department would begin to “aggressively revoke visas” from Chinese students in late May with a focus on “those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”

Immigration authorities have also detained graduate students at Columbia University and Tufts University following their support for Palestine at campus protests while the Trump administration remains embattled with Harvard University as it seeks to restrict its student visas.

However, a majority of voters from each party agree that international students have positive contributions on the nation, according to Quinnipiac’s poll.

Ninety-six percent of Democrats said they believe the same so while 3 percent of party members disagree, compared to 75 percent of independents who supported the statement and 14 percent who didn’t.

Forty-nine percent of Republicans said they think international students are good for the country while 37 percent did not.

Quinnipac’s poll also measured voters view on the war in Gaza.

Thirty-seven percent of voters said their sympathies lie with Israel, 32 percent said the Palestinians and 31 percent had no opinion.

Researchers noted that Israeli sympathy numbers were at an “all-time low” as concerns for the Palestinian people increased to an “all-time high,” reaching unprecedented numbers since Quinnipiac began polling registered voters in December 2001.

“With no end to the Israel – Gaza conflict in sight, Israel’s standing with voters slips significantly. At the same time, here in the U.S., there is broad empathy for victims of antisemitism,” said Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy.

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,265 self-identified registered voters with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.