Newly released polling indicates that a clear majority of Americans are supportive of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and believe they should be left unobstructed.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans believe that ICE agents “should be able to do their job without being impeded or harassed,” according to polling conducted by Plymouth Union Public Research. The survey, which gauged public sentiment on President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda and the conduct of deportation officers, found that most Americans generally want to see illegal immigration addressed.
“Voters broadly see illegal immigration as a serious issue that President Trump is properly addressing,” the survey concluded. “There is clear openness for enforcement measures and general approval of the current approach, especially efforts to disrupt cartels and hold foreign actors accountable.”
“Support extends to ICE officers enforcing these policies. Voters emphasize respect for their service and the need to let them do their jobs,” the survey’s findings continued. “By contrast, organized efforts to obstruct enforcement draw limited sympathy and appear confined to a small but vocal slice of the electorate.”
Respondents strongly believed border enforcement to be a priority, with 74% of those surveyed stating that fighting illegal immigration is “an important issue” for both President Donald Trump and Congress to fix, according to the survey. Only seven percent of respondents declared the issue “not important at all.”
The survey further found that 58% of Americans believe ICE agents put their lives on the line to keep the public safe and 57% believe ICE agents have the “dangerous job of keeping us safe from violent criminals.” A slim majority, 51%, also approve of using ICE agents to combat illegal immigration.
“Overall, the center of public opinion favors the America First message of fighting illegal immigration and supporting ICE agents protecting our communities,” the Plymouth Union Public Research survey concluded.
The survey follows an incredibly fraught time for the agency amid a deadly ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis earlier in January. Renee Good was shot by an ICE agent as she was obstructing an enforcement operation and appeared to drive into an ICE agent in front of her, forcing the agent to fire defensive shots.
Anti-ICE demonstrations have rocked Minneapolis and have cropped up in other major cities across the country. Democrats in Minnesota have sued to remove ICE agents from the state and congressional Democrats have threatened to withhold funding from the agency unless major reforms are enacted.
The poll surveyed 1,000 likely general election voters across the country, resulting in a margin of error 3.1%, according to Plymouth Union Public Research. Respondents were evenly split along partisan lines, with Republicans and Democrats each making up 40% and the remaining 20% being independent voters.
Other surveys have reportedly indicated that public support for Trump’s immigration agenda is falling. Internal GOP polling reviewed by the president’s inner circle earlier in January found 60% of independent voters and 58% of undecided voters believing Trump was “too focused” on deporting illegal migrants, according to Axios.
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