(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Biden admin's new private sponsorship program is a winner across party lines, polling shows [1] ['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-01-31 While Americans across party lines are supportive of the Biden administration’s private sponsorship initiative, support is strongest among Americans who identify as Democrats, polling found. “Democrats support Welcome Corps by a wide margin (76% support; 9% oppose), and while Republicans are less enthusiastic, nearly twice as many are in favor of the program (53%) as opposed to it (28%),” YouGov America said. Fifty-one percent of independents said they were strongly or somewhat supportive, while 29% said they weren’t sure. (Previous YouGov polling revealed that the more respondents found out about legislation ensuring permanent relief for Afghan evacuees, the more support grew.) Among age groups, Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 were the most supportive of the administration’s initiative. More than 80% of respondents who said they were either strongly or somewhat supportive of the initiative said they know a refugee. Welcome.US said that More in Common polling further revealed support was strongest among Asian American communities, “reflecting the long tail of private refugee resettlement from the late 1970s.” “It’s clear that when we offer people the opportunity to help welcome newcomers seeking safety and the chance at a new life, Americans are eager to open their arms and lead the way,” Welcome.US CEO Nazanin Ash said. “What they have to offer is far more than what government systems can do alone, and the benefit to refugees and our nation far greater.” The policy will permit groups of U.S. citizens or permanent residents to apply to sponsor refugees if they can raise a certain amount of funding, as well as assist families in securing housing, education, and other services. The policy is modeled after a Canadian sponsorship system. Advocates had long been urging an American version, especially after the nation’s refugee resettlement system was basically stripped to nothing by nativist officials with the previous administration. Not only will it aid refugee resettlement agencies that are still recovering from those devastating years, Americans who have wanted to aid refugees but were unsure how can now play a direct role. But Republicans aren’t done attacking these lifesaving programs just yet. Texas and noted white supremacist Stephen Miller are suing over another Biden initiative allowing Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants to get sponsored by Americans. Miller and GOP states are engaged in a plainly racist ploy: The Biden administration set up a similar sponsorship program for Ukrainian refugees, but Republicans didn’t sue over that one. Don’t take it from me, take it from very corrupt Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. His Jan. 24 tweet promoting this lawsuit notably singled out Haitian migrants. Hmm, wonder why. But despite this Republican lawsuit and the nativist rhetoric, the polling shows that the majority of Americans want to help, and want to be of service. That’s what I hold onto when when I see the gross mudslinging from elected Republicans. RELATED STORIES: Biden admin announces program allowing private individuals to sponsor Afghan refugees More than 50,000 Ukrainians have arrived to U.S. through Biden admin's private sponsorship program Midterm results and continued polls show we should invest in asylum system, not further restrict it [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/31/2150363/-Biden-admin-s-new-private-sponsorship-program-is-a-winner-across-party-lines-polling-shows Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/