Polls Show ICE Backlash

Polls taken after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis show broad unease with the agency's tactics and a shift in public opinion that could complicate Republican efforts to hold the House. Surveys by CNN, Quinnipiac, Economist/YouGov, and CBS News all found majorities of respondents viewed the shooting as unjustified or an improper use of force and expressed disapproval of ICE's conduct overall, per the Washington Post. In the Quinnipiac poll, 53% of registered voters said the shooting was not justified, while 57% disapproved of how ICE is enforcing immigration laws.

An Economist/YouGov survey found that half of US citizens called the shooting unjustified and that more people said ICE makes Americans less safe than more safe. CBS found 61% think ICE is too aggressive in stops and detentions, and 56% say the Trump administration is pursuing more deportations than they expected, not just targeting dangerous offenders. A CNN poll showed 56% of adults did not consider the shooting to be an appropriate use of force. The backlash follows the expansion of the Trump administration installment of thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents to Minneapolis and St. Paul, a force that outnumbers local police. President Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if state officials do not end protests, and the Pentagon is preparing for a possible deployment of 1,500 active-duty troops.

Republicans broadly support ICE and are highlighting renewed talk among some Democrats of abolishing the agency, per the Post, a move some strategists call politically damaging for Democrats. Polls, however, show voters nearly evenly split on eliminating ICE, and independents have largely aligned with Democrats on ICE's actions, even as immigration trails the economy as a top voter concern. Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego called ICE "out of control," per the New York Times, but doesn't want his party to embrace abolishment. "The last thing we need to do, again, is to make the same mistake when it comes to 'Defund the Police' rhetoric," he said.