Kathy Frankovic summarizes the latest YouGov poll on how Americans think we should respond to the crisis:
Even those paying very close attention doubt that either a military or an economic response from the U.S., like sending troops to Ukraine, would result in Russian troop withdrawal. Just one in four overall think military action by the United States would result in the Russians leaving the country. One in four think economic sanctions on Russia would have that result. Still, most Americans would approve of some action by the United States, with the largest numbers supporting negotiations and economic sanctions against Russia. A majority of those paying very close attention would also support economic aid. There is far less support for military assistance and only 6% overall would favor sending U.S. troops to Ukraine.
Sheldon Richman proposes an option not asked about in the poll:
I’m talking about opening America’s borders—scrapping immigration controls.
Ukrainians who want to get out of their dicey neighborhood, whether permanently or temporarily, should be free to move to the United States. Look at it this way: How dare we Americans confine Ukrainians to a condition they might desperately wish to escape? How can we imagine ourselves to be a humane people while engaged in a policy with such odious consequences and implications for liberty?
Opening the borders, of course, is not offered here as a comprehensive answer to the conflict between Russia and the Ukrainians who want to be free of Russian influence, but it may be an answer for some Ukrainians. How many, no one can know. But it makes little difference. Let them in! There are about a million Ukrainians in the United States (2006 census figures), second only to Canada outside of Ukraine itself, with the largest centers in New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Cleveland, and Indianapolis. The newcomers need not be strangers in a strange land, though they should be welcome throughout the country.
More recent US polls on Ukraine here.
The Dish 