--- title: Family Separation Policy Widely Unpopular in New Poll description: A new poll reports 66 percent of respondents oppose the policy of separating children who illegally cross the border from their families. canonical: https://time.com/5315110/family-separation-policy-polling-republicans/ author: Abby Vesoulis article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-18T19:07:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:31:16.941Z article:section: Politics og:title: Republicans Were the Only Group in This Poll to Support Trump's Family Separation Policy og:description: Among all respondents, two-thirds opposed it. og:url: https://time.com/5315110/family-separation-policy-polling-republicans/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1d236e23c618c0c/6989334686f68e04496e970c/u-s-border-patrol-processing-center-in-mcallen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2324 og:image:height: 1307 og:image:alt: Immigration Holding Facility, McAllen og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Republicans Were the Only Group in This Poll to Support Trump's Family Separation Policy twitter:description: Among all respondents, two-thirds opposed it. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1d236e23c618c0c/6989334686f68e04496e970c/u-s-border-patrol-processing-center-in-mcallen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Republicans Were the Only Group in This Poll to Support Trump's Family Separation Policy > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=49b40e35-e738-434f-9819-5e0fd58f70e9&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Nearly 2,000 Children Have Been Separated From Their Families During Trump Border Crackdown [Watch (HLS stream): Nearly 2,000 Children Have Been Separated From Their Families During Trump Border Crackdown](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mdVWChjR.m3u8) (3:26)  _Published 2018-06-18. Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families during a six-week period in April and May, as the Trump Administration cracked down on illegal immigration with a “zero-tolerance” policy of separating families at the border_  by [Abby Vesoulis](https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/)  ## Abby Vesoulis Jun 18, 2018 7:07 PM UTC Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families during a six-week period in April and May, as the Trump Administration cracked down on illegal immigration with a “zero-tolerance” policy of separating families at the border  by [Abby Vesoulis](https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/)  ## Abby Vesoulis Jun 18, 2018 7:07 PM UTC Two-thirds of Americans oppose a policy that has led to more than 2,000 children being separated from their parents at the U.S. border, and Republicans were the only group polled who support it. In a [survey](https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2550) by Quinnipiac University, 66% of respondents said they oppose a Trump Administration policy that has led to family separations, while only 27% supported it. But Republicans in the poll backed the policy by 55%, the only party, gender, education, age or racial group to support it. Trump himself has [falsely blamed Democrats](http://time.com/5314769/family-separation-policy-donald-trump/) for the policy and said that he is not happy with it. Adviser Kellyanne Conway said over the weekend that “nobody likes” the policy. “Nobody likes seeing babies ripped from their mothers’ arms,” [she said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”](https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/full-kellyanne-conway-nobody-likes-immigration-policy-separating-families-1257720387696) “As a mother, as a Catholic, as somebody who has got a conscience. … I will tell you that nobody likes this policy.” Speaking at a White House event on space Monday, Trump [argued that Democrats could end the policy](http://time.com/5314769/family-separation-policy-donald-trump/) imposed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions if they worked with Republicans to overhaul immigration laws. The poll surveyed over 900 voters across the country and had a margin of error of plus or minus approximately four percentage points. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:09] [ MUSIC ] [00:18] I have put in place a zero tolerance policy for illegal [00:22] entry on our southwest border. If you cross [00:26] the border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. If [00:30] you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute [00:35] you. And that child may be separated from you [ MUSIC ] [00:46] The [00:54] zero tolerance policy is intended to deter people [00:58] from breaking the law, Adults Adults, if they are [01:02] accompanied by a child, that child is temporarily separated [01:06] from them as they go through a judicial process. And that is [01:11] no different from a United States citizen parent. [ MUSIC ] [01:20] [ MUSIC ] [01:27] [ MUSIC ] [01:34] They [01:41] call [01:48] it [01:55] the zero Tolerance. But a better name [01:59] for it is zero humanity and there's zero logic [02:04] to this policy. [ MUSIC ] [02:11] The democrats gave us the laws, now I [02:15] want the laws to be beautiful. But strong. I don't want bad [02:19] people coming in. I don't want drugs coming in. And we [02:22] can solve that problem in one meeting. Tell the democrats, [02:26] your friends, to call me. [ MUSIC ] We [02:34] should not be using kids as a deterrent policy. [02:38] This is something, I think, is actually unacceptable. [02:43] And it's something that, as Americans, we shouldn't be [02:45] doing. He's gotta step in there and he's gotta end this [02:48] thing. I think it's an atrocious policy. It's inhumane, it's [02:52] offensive to the average American. [ MUSIC ] [03:00] We [03:07] do not have the luxury of pretending that all individuals [03:11] coming to this country as a family unit Are, in fact, a family. [03:16] We have to do our job. We will not apologize for doing our [03:19] job. We have sworn to do this job. 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