--- description: But most think that if refugees are admitted, there should be no preference for Christians title: Most Americans Support Using Force in Syria, Oppose Refugees image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77c2cf7d41d76f75/6988724df887dcf354e93702/refugees-europe-usa.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Immigration](/tag/immigration/) ## Immigration Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Most Americans Oppose Admitting Syrian Refugees, Poll Finds  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 20, 2015 9:32 PM CUT  A Macedonian police officer helps a girl move past the cordon on the Greek-Macedonian border after Macedonia has started letting in refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, near Gevegelija, Macedonia, on 20 Nov. 2015. A Macedonian police officer helps a girl move past the cordon on the Greek-Macedonian border after Macedonia has started letting in refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, near Gevegelija, Macedonia, on 20 Nov. 2015.Georgi Licovski—EPA  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 20, 2015 9:32 PM CUT A majority of Americans support the use of force against ISIS and oppose admitting Syrian refugees in to the United States in the aftermath of ISIS’s Paris attacks, according to a new poll released Friday. Some 54% of total respondents said they oppose taking in refugees,according to a new poll from the [Washington Post and ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/terrorism-fears-rise-post-paris-back-force-oppose/story?id=35327667 "undefined"), and 52% say they’re not confident in the American screening process to weed out possible terrorists. But if refugees are admitted, the poll found, an overwhelming 78% say all refugees should be considered equally– only 18% support a preference for Christian refugees. Presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz have both argued for giving Christian refugees a special preference. The poll found that 73% of surveyed Americans support U.S. participation in a military operation against ISIS, and 60% support the use of ground forces. 59% of Americans said the U.S. is at war with radical Islam, and 81% say they anticipate a serious terror attack on U.S. soil– one of few moments since 9/11 when anxiety about another attack has reached this level. The results come a day after the House passed a bill to drastically tighten security measures for Syrian and Iraqi refugees, against the objections of President Obama. \[[_Washington Post/ABC_](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/terrorism-fears-rise-post-paris-back-force-oppose/story?id=35327667 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4122938/refugees-syria-america-poll/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4122938/refugees-syria-america-poll/"},"headline":"Most Americans Oppose Admitting Syrian Refugees, Poll Finds","datePublished":"2015-11-20T21:32:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:49:09.159Z","description":"But most think that if refugees are admitted, there should be no preference for Christians","url":"https://time.com/4122938/refugees-syria-america-poll/","keywords":["Immigration","Syria","Refugees","ISIS","Poll","ted cruz","jeb bush"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77c2cf7d41d76f75/6988724df887dcf354e93702/refugees-europe-usa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77c2cf7d41d76f75/6988724df887dcf354e93702/refugees-europe-usa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"epa05034123 A Macedonian police officer helps a girl to pass between the cordon as migrants and refugees wait to cross the Greek-Macedonian border after Macedonia has started granting passage only to refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, near Gevege","caption":"epa05034123 A Macedonian police officer helps a girl to pass between the cordon as migrants and refugees wait to cross the Greek-Macedonian border after Macedonia has started granting passage only to refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, near Gevege","creditText":"Georgi Licovski—EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/immigration/","name":"Immigration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4122938/refugees-syria-america-poll/","name":"Most Americans Oppose Admitting Syrian Refugees, Poll Finds"}}]}] ```