Voters are much more likely to support immigrant-family separation if they watch Fox News or read Breitbart

In late June, President Donald Trump officially suspended his administration’s policy of forcibly separating immigrant children from their families as they crossed the US-Mexico border. …

Though the policy has received bipartisan blowback, almost one-third of voters — mainly Republicans and/or Trump voters — support it. Who exactly are these voters, and what explains their views?

Results from a survey we fielded in early July of 2,900 US citizens and permanent residents may help to answer that question. …

We find that voters’ media consumption can matter just as much or more than party identification. Voters who consider Fox News or Breitbart a primary news source are significantly more likely to support the policy — even controlling for traits such as party identification, presidential vote choice, religious intensity, ethnicity, education, income, and gender. CONT.

Kevin Cope (UVA) & Charles Crabtree (U. of Michigan), LSE USAPP