US ranked sixth among countries most-accepting of migrants

 US ranked sixth among countries most-accepting of migrants

by Justine Coleman

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The U.S. ranked sixth among the countries most-accepting of migrants in 2019, according to a poll released on Wednesday.

Gallup’s Migrant Acceptance Index determined that the U.S. reached a score of 7.95 out of a possible 9.0, ranking as the sixth most-accepting nation for migrants last year. Canada ranked in first place with a score of 8.46.

The U.S. also ranked behind Iceland, New Zealand, Australia and Sierra Leone.

The index is based on three questions asked to people in each country about whether it’s considered a good thing or a bad thing if migrants are living in their country, becoming their neighbors and marrying into their families. 

Nine in 10 in the U.S. said migrants becoming their neighbors was a good thing, while 87 percent said migrants living in their country and 85 percent said migrants marrying into their families were positive. 

The index saw a split between those who approve of President Trump’s performance and those who do not, with those backing him scoring a 7.10 and those who disapprove scoring an 8.59. 

The score was also higher among younger U.S. respondents, with those aged 15 to 29 having a score of 8.34 and those 65 and older reaching a 7.37 score. 

Trump’s administration has made moves to curtail both legal and illegal immigration throughout his presidency. But Gallup found the U.S. continues to rank among the most-accepting nations, as it did in 2017, and Americans' acceptance of migrants has remained relatively unchanged since then.

Gallup surveyed residents in 140 countries on the three questions in 2016 and 2017 and 145 nations last year. 

About 1,000 people aged 15 and older were surveyed in each country, with some countries, like India, Russia and China, having larger samples and others, like Jamaica and Iceland, having smaller samples. The margin of error in each country ranged from 1.9 percentage points to 5.4 percentage points.

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