Should US government screen social media of potential immigrants? What poll found

Miami Herald

2 days ago

Most Americans support authorizing the government to screen the social media content of potential immigrants — though many have doubts about whether this process would be fair, according to a new YouGov/Economist poll.
The survey, released on June 3, comes as President Donald Trump's administration has ramped up online monitoring of immigrants seeking to live in the U.S. — a protocol which has been in practice for at least a decade, according to The Associated Press.
In April, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it would begin considering antisemitic activity on social media as grounds for denying immigration requests.
Further, the administration is considering requiring social media vetting for all international students seeking to study in the U.S., according to NBC News. At the same time, the government has ceased scheduling visa interviews for prospective foreign students.
Here are the findings from the latest poll — which sampled 1,610 U.S. adults May 30-June 2 and had a margin of error of 3.2 percent.
Social media monitoring
A majority of respondents, 53%, said the U.S. government should be 'allowed to monitor the social media accounts of people applying to immigrate to the U.S.'
Just 27% said officials should not be permitted to do this, and 19% said they were not sure.
The vast majority of Republicans, 78%, favored this policy, while a plurality of Democrats, 44%, were opposed.
However, more respondents than not said they had little faith in the government to fairly handle this process.
A plurality, 46%, said they had no or not very much trust in the government 'to determine whether content on a person's social media account should disqualify them from immigrating to the U.S.'
In contrast, 39% said they had a great deal or a fair amount of trust.
Most Republicans, 62%, expressed faith in the government to handle social media screening, while most Democrats, 66%, expressed none or little.
When it came to the goal of monitoring social media, Americans were divided.
A plurality, 32%, said the main purpose of screening the online presence of potential immigrants is to 'improve national security,' while 23% said it is to 'suppress political dissent.' Twenty-seven percent said the goal is both of these.
And, while there is widespread support for screenings, most Americans, 53%, believe that, once immigrants are in the country, they should 'have the same right to express political views online as U.S. citizens.' Thirty percent disagreed, and 18% said they were not sure.
The overwhelming majority of Democrats, 75%, agreed with this statement, while a plurality of Republicans, 49%, disagreed.
Respondents were also far more wary of social media monitoring when it came to U.S. citizens.
More than two-thirds, 68%, said the government should be barred from surveilling the social media of citizens 'who are not being investigated for crimes.' Just 17% said the government should be allowed to do this.
Here, there was agreement across the political spectrum, with most Democrats (79%), independents (66%) and Republicans (60%) saying they were opposed.