The Supreme Court’s Tuesday decision on birthright citizenship comes as Americans are split on the question of whether being born in the U.S.is central to American identity, with stark partisan divides on the issue, according to the recent NBC News poll.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.New data from the survey poll finds a slim majority — 54% — say being born in the U.S.
is important to being “truly American,” while 45% say it is not important.Overall, Americans rank several other traits as far more important to American identity.
The poll tested whether Americans view eight different ideas or traits as important to being “truly American.” The survey was sponsored by More Perfect, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to advancing democracy, and conducted by Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates and GOP pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies.The results were gathered ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down an executive order from President Donald Trump, which sought to restrict birthright citizenship for children of temporary visitors or of people who entered the country illegally.Being born in the U.S.
was at the bottom of the list of traits tested in the poll, with more Americans saying seven other traits were very or somewhat important.Those include believing in the ideas of liberty and equality, voting in elections, being involved in your local community, speaking English, sharing American customs and traditions, believing in God, and being actively engaged in the political process by donating to or volunteering for a candidate for office or cause.When looking just at the share of respondents who rated a trait as “very important,” being born in the U.S.
ranked second-to-last among the eight traits tested.Overwhelming majorities of Americans say that believing in the ideas of liberty and equality, along with voting in elect...