Mass immigration not popular, US and international polls show

A series of opinion polls conducted around the world, including in the US, have discovered that the majority of people in most countries disagree with the large-scale level of immigration currently in operation.

This opinion is particularly strong in Europe, where, in the first months of 2015, more than a million refugees and immigrants arrived, and a further 135,000 were allowed to enter. Most people in the US share similar views, particularly following the arrival of thousands of Central American undocumented immigrants, and reports that immigrants from other countries including Pakistan have been crossing the US border illegally.

A poll was conducted in June and July 2016 in 22 countries by the Paris-based polling firm, Ipsos. It discovered that 49 percent of all those surveyed believe that their countries are welcoming too many immigrants and that their nations are being forced to change in a manner they do not approve of by the sheer number of those immigrants. France Ipsos director, Yves Bardon, says that the fear of uncontrolled immigration in Europe, with the primary worry over the ability and willingness of the immigrants to integrate, has been heightened by widespread media reports about the arrival of refugees and immigrants.

The survey was carried out in a wide range of countries, including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Australia and the US.