More Americans say US is no longer welcoming to immigrants, according to new survey

Overall, 65% believe that all children born in the US should be entitled to citizenship regardless of their parents’ status, and 75% believe the same for children whose non-citizen parents are legally present in the US on work visas.

But only 49% think that should be the case for children born in the US to parents in the country illegally. Trump’s executive order seeks to limit US citizenship to those who have at least one parent who is already a citizen.

The AP said it found that Democrats were more likely than independents or Republicans to know someone affected by the Trump crackdown, and those with a personal connection are more likely to say the US is no longer a great place for immigrants.

Kathy Bailey, a 79-year-old Illinois Democrat, said she had seen the administration’s immigration policies seep into the small-town swim class she regularly attends. She said two women in the class, both naturalized US citizens, had started carrying their passports when they left home.

Bailey said one of the women, from Latin America, was especially worried about sticking out in an overwhelmingly white community.

“She’s an American citizen now, but she’s so scared that she has to carry her passport,” Bailey said. “She’s just another sweet old grandmother swimming at five in the morning.”

Nick Grivas, 40, said his grandfather’s immigration from Greece two generations ago made him more conscious of Trump’s policies, and that he believed the US stopped being a promising place for people seeking a new life.

“We can see how we’re treating children and the children of the immigrants, and we’re not viewing them as potential future Americans,” Grivas, a resident of Massachusetts, said.

He said he thought new arrivals would be deterred from investing in their local communities if they feared deportation.

“You’re less willing to commit to the project if you don’t think that you’re gonna be able to stay,” he said.