April 10, 2009
Posted: April 10th, 2009 12:00 PM ET
Congress has appropriated $700 million in aid to Mexico to help that country battle drug violence, and more may be on the way.
Congress has appropriated $700 million in aid to Mexico to help that country battle drug violence, and more may be on the way.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Congress has appropriated $700 million in aid to Mexico to help that country battle drug violence, and more may be on the way. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll suggests Americans may strongly support a response that goes beyond money: three in four favor sending U.S. troops to the border to deal with the crisis.

Last month, the Obama administration announced a crackdown on border violence and on the smuggling of cash and weapons into Mexico, a step that could mark an end to a nasty blame game over where responsibility for the violence lies.
The CNN/ORC telephone poll of 1,023 Americans was conducted April 3-5 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the fighting "a terrible law-enforcement problem" in U.S. cities along the Mexican border, but said it does not yet pose a major threat to overall U.S. security.

"This is more about trying to act proactively," she said in an interview with CNN's Jill Dougherty in Mexico City. "We need to help them, or we'll see the results in our own country."

"Sending U.S. troops to the border with Mexico is a popular suggestion," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Six in ten liberals support that move, along with more than eight in ten conservatives."

Filed under: Mexico • Polls


Dutch/Bad Newz, VA   April 10th, 2009 12:48 pm ET

Troops aren't needed on the border. We just need a better ways of deterring people from crossing over. I think rather than having a fence on the border, the border should be barbwired on both sides.

ray ray   April 10th, 2009 12:47 pm ET

When will CNN do a poll asking if Americans approve of Democrats' prosecution of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio??

Joe's crime? Rounding up and detaining illegal immigrants!

Pelosi calls it "Un-American". Democrats in DC have convinced the Dept of Justice to pursue a witch-hunt against this Sheriff.

WHERE is the media?? WHY are you burying this story??

Deborah/Kansas City   April 10th, 2009 12:39 pm ET

Security in Mexico is way more important to our nation than security in Iraq.

Casey   April 10th, 2009 12:38 pm ET

I'd rather have our troops on OUR border than in Iraq or Afghanistan. In fact, if you took all troops and dollars out of the rest of the world, I think the world would have a major wake-up call.

And then, perhaps, the "neighbors" of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, N. Korea, etc... would begin to deal with the problems of those regions.

I'm not advocating protectionism, just reality.

Alfred E. Neumann   April 10th, 2009 12:36 pm ET

The military has no place acting as the Border Patrol. The military has no place patrol the streets of this country in main battle tanks.

You want more border security – spend the money and hire more Border Patrol agents and enforce the laws on the books.

Take away the incentives for illegal activity by slowing the demand for drugs in this country. Start billing the originating country for health care costs of illegal aliens.

Chris   April 10th, 2009 12:36 pm ET

Obama wants to crack down on smuggling of drugs and weapons, but is he American enough to start protecting our country from the smuggling of illegal aliens into it? Based on his actions thus far, I would have to say that he's not the person to protect America from this invasion.

Sharon-NY   April 10th, 2009 12:29 pm ET

Obama should have sent US troops two month ago. Where is his smart decision ?? ACT NOW.

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