Poll: Nearly two-thirds of Americans say ICE has gone too far in its immigration crackdown

A new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll finds that Americans largely disapprove of the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as recent enhanced enforcement operations spread to new cities across the country. A majority say ICE makes Americans less safe, and a growing number believe the agency’s actions have gone too far.

Meanwhile, anti-ICE protests, which have increased in size and visibility in recent weeks, are viewed by a majority of Americans as mostly legitimate rather than illegal.

Six in 10 Americans disapprove of the work ICE does, while about 3 in 10 approve. Opinions about the agency and its actions are sharply divided along political lines, with 91% of Democrats and 66% of independents disapproving. However, Republicans still support the agency’s work, with 73% approving of the agency’s work.

Six in 10 Americans disapprove of the work ICE does, while about 3 in 10 approve, according to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll. Graphic by Steve Staples/PBS News.

Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, said the situation put President Donald Trump in an “untenable position.”

Photos and videos of armed and masked immigration agents detaining people, including US citizens, on the streets of US cities have flooded social media in recent weeks. As Americans view these recent arrests, as well as the shootings, from multiple angles, the “bad image” has led to a dramatic shift in support.

“There are questions in people’s minds about whether this is a good policy,” Miringoff said.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents to the latest poll — 65% — feel that ICE has gone too far in enforcing immigration laws, a jump from 54% last June, when the Trump administration began beefing up enforcement efforts in Los Angeles. This is driven largely by Democrats and independents, but a growing share of Republicans say the same thing.

22% of respondents say the agency’s actions were correct, compared to 26% last year. The percentage who believe ICE is not going far enough in its efforts has dropped from 18% to 12% today.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents to a recent PBS News/NPR/Marist poll — 65% — feel that ICE has gone too far in enforcing immigration laws, a jump from 54% last June, when the Trump administration began beefing up enforcement efforts in Los Angeles. Graphic by Steve Staples/PBS News.

The latest survey was conducted in the days following the killing of Alex Peretti by Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis, the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by federal immigration officials in the city this year.

Pretty’s killing – and public outrage over the agents’ aggressive tactics – radically changed the administration’s immigration efforts. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, who oversaw the crackdown in Minneapolis and other cities, was removed from his post and replaced by White House border czar Tom Homan, whom Trump personally dispatched to be the public face of the operation.

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Homan said Wednesday that because of “unprecedented cooperation” between local authorities and ICE, 700 federal immigration agents will leave Minnesota immediately, leaving about 2,000 employees behind for the time being. In one of the most notable shifts in recent days, ICE agents were able to detain illegal immigrants directly from local jails before releasing them, what Homan described as “smart law enforcement” that requires fewer officers on city streets.

Journalists raised their hands to ask questions during a January 29 news conference with White House border official Tom Homan in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Archive photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Trump’s tone on immigration changed again this week. The federal response could use a “softer touch” while remaining “tough,” he said in an interview Wednesday with NBC News.

“The White House has backed away from Minneapolis,” Miringoff said of recent changes in the operation’s leadership and scope. “They need to change the narrative.”

While the Department of Homeland Security insists that agents are focused on removing the “worst of the worst” of illegal immigrants with criminal records, high-profile cases, including the detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos of Minneapolis, have drawn new attention and renewed scrutiny of the tactics used to enforce immigration laws and those the federal government is removing.

A majority of Americans — 62% — believe that ICE’s actions make Americans less safe. Another 37%, including 77% of Republicans, say America is safer.

What Republicans are saying about immigration enforcement under Trump

Members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other law enforcement officials stand guard during a protest Jan. 17 in front of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, more than a week after an ICE agent shot Renee Nicole Judd. Photography by Seth Herald/Reuters.

Recent scenes from Minneapolis, including the shootings of Pretty and Renee Judd, have caused some people who voted for Trump to rethink their support.

Oscar Gomez, 34, who has lived in California all his life, is a three-time Trump voter and has supported the president since he first ran in 2016. Gomez said he now regrets his vote and no longer supports the president’s actions.

“It’s kind of sad how you can still, even as an American citizen, fear for your life,” he said.

Gomez said he supports the president’s 2024 campaign promise to prioritize deportation of immigrants with criminal records. But Gomez said the Trump administration is instead trying to remove “anyone they consider to be brown.”

“He’s not going after criminals anymore. He’s dividing families at this point,” Gomez said. “He’s focusing on the wrong issues.”

People take part in a protest on January 25, the day after Alex Peretti was killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photography by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Other Trump voters told Trump the administration should go further in its enforcement efforts.

Jessica Osuna, 63, moved to Texas from New Mexico with her family two years ago. She also voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and repeats the president’s unsubstantiated claims that undocumented immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than American citizens.

“They shouldn’t be here,” she said of people who entered the country illegally. “They’re breaking the law. They’re not doing it the right way.”

Following recent deadly shootings and other incidents in Minneapolis, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that all immigration agents in the city will wear body cameras during operations, with the policy potentially expanding to other cities.

He watches: Jeffries outlines Democrats’ demands for changes at DHS and ICE amid funding battle

Lawmakers are engaged in a heated debate over potential reforms that Democrats and some Republicans want to see at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security. ICE’s policies and tactics held up a recent government funding bill, leading to a short-term partial shutdown. Although an agreement was eventually reached to fund most of the government, funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to expire again at the end of next week unless Congress can agree on new restrictions.

Democrats are also pushing to require immigration agents to carry identification, remove the masks many regularly wear, and are seeking injunctions for many of their actions.

In the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll, 59% of Americans say ICE protests are mostly legitimate; Another 40% believe they are mostly people acting illegally.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people protested immigration measures in Minneapolis and other cities. In this poll, 59% of Americans say protests are mostly legitimate; Another 40% believe they are mostly people acting illegally.

Like 75% of Republicans, Osuna, a Trump supporter in Texas, believes the protesters have gone too far. She said using whistles and air horns to disrupt immigration officials should be illegal.

“It triggers something in your brain, and of course, that’s when all the chaos starts,” she said. “When they say, ‘Stop,’ you have to stop. You have to follow their directions. You have to listen to them. If you don’t, in my opinion, they have the right to protect themselves.”

Why “Trump’s policies are a burden on him now” — and what that might mean for the midterms

President Donald Trump and members of his administration attend a Cabinet meeting on January 29 at the White House in Washington, D.C. Photography by Evelyn Hochstein/Reuters.

Overall, the president’s approval ratings have remained steady, even as the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics have dominated public attention. The percentage of Americans who approve of the work he is doing is almost identical to the previous month (39% compared to 38% in January). 56% disapprove of his job performance.

Interestingly, 51% say they strongly disagree with this. This is the highest percentage of people who said that since Trump returned to the Oval Office last year. It’s a level of disapproval unmatched in Marist polls except in the days after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Trump’s support among Republicans remains high, at 85%, but his support among black, Latino and young voters – all groups that swung his way in the 2024 election – has continued to dwindle.

“There is a difference between him and his policies,” Miringoff said. “And he is not changing.” “He is still the Donald Trump that people loved and hated. But politics are getting in the way of him now.”

About 39 percent of Americans approve of the work President Donald Trump is doing in office. Fifty-six percent disagree. Graphic by Dan Cooney/PBS News.

By a margin of 2 to 1, more Americans say they would like Trump to spend more time prioritizing the economy and lowering commodity prices than they do prioritizing immigration control.

The percentage of Americans who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy has slowly risen in his second term. Now, nearly 6 in 10 respondents disapprove — the highest level during his two terms in office and a higher level of disapproval than his predecessor Joe Biden measured at any time during his presidency.

Tariffs on various imported goods, which the Trump administration has regularly imposed and dropped, are one of the major economic policy issues of his second term.

More than half of Americans say tariffs mostly hurt the US economy, a number that has jumped 8 percentage points since last March. Another 31% say tariffs are mostly beneficial.

Miringoff warns that if his administration’s policies remain on the same path over the next few months, frustration among voters will likely have a negative impact on Republican candidates in the November midterm elections.

“That could cause some Republicans in battleground states and swing districts to have to run for cover,” he said. As a result, many may seek to put “a little distance between themselves and Trump.”

Other key findings from the recent PBS News/NPR/Marist poll:

• Two-thirds of Americans oppose the US attempt to take control of Greenlandwhich Trump pushed prominently during his second term.
• A majority (56%) have a positive opinion of NATOWhich includes Denmark and its territory Greenland. Another 20% have a negative view.
• Does the United States benefit from being a member of NATO? Two-thirds say yes.
• 72% of Americans believe that the president should consult Congress before taking any military actionThis is something Trump did not do before the recent incursion into Venezuela to arrest current President Nicolas Maduro.