American voters are turning on Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with a majority now demanding that ICE raids stop.
New polling from the Daily Mail, conducted Monday by JL Partners, shows that 53 percent of registered voters believe ICE and Customs and Border Protection’s raids and their presence in U.S. cities should now end.
Even 19 percent of Republicans, nearly one-fifth, agree, while 71 percent of GOP voters believe the immigration raids should continue.
Now 47 percent believe that ICE should be disbanded, an uptick from 43 percent in a Daily Mail poll that was conducted Friday.
Twenty-seven percent of Republicans, joined 66 percent of Democrats and 46 percent of independents in holding that view.
On Saturday, 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed by several CBP agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, creating a firestorm of protest and forcing President Donald Trump to walk back comments from some of his deputies, requesting on Tuesday a ‘very honorable and honest investigation’ into Pretti’s death.
Trump’s approval ratings have been hurt by ICE, the CBP and their immigration enforcement actions, standing at 45 percent in Monday’s survey, a tie for the lowest in the Daily Mail’s tracking poll since he took office last January.
The actions of ICE and the broader immigration agenda are now the No. 1 driver of disapproval of Trump, with 28 percent of voters choosing that as their top option.
One of many protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, this one during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Monday, on the heels of Alex Pretti’s death on Saturday. New polling shows dire numbers for ICE and the immigration agenda in its aftermath
That increased by 10 points from just Friday to Monday – before and after Pretti’s death.
The No. 2 issue Americans are displeased with Trump’s handling of was inflation, polling found, with 16 percent of voters who disapproved of the president listing that as their top issue.
Despite CBP agents being responsible for Pretti’s death, CBP is still viewed more favorably than ICE, which has gotten the bulk of attention as Trump carries out his promised mass deportation plan.
Thirty-five percent viewed CBP unfavorably, while 38 percent viewed CBP favorably.
That’s in comparison to 55 percent who view ICE unfavorably and 32 percent who hold a favorable view of the agency.
In November, Daily Mail polling found that 45 percent held an unfavorable view of ICE.
Now, even 23 percent of Republicans hold an unfavorable view of ICE.
A majority of respondents, 54 percent, characterized Pretti’s killing as unjustified and labeled it murder, versus 21 percent who said it was a justified law enforcement action.
Members of ICE detain a man in Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 18. A majority of registered voters would now like to see ICE leave U.S. cities
Majorities of voters found Pretti’s killing to be a watershed moment for the country and for themselves personally.
Fifty-seven percent called it a turning point in how America will think about immigration enforcement actions by the Trump administration, including 47 percent of Republicans.
Another 53 percent said it was a turning point for them personally, with 39 percent of Republican voters saying it was a turning point for them.
The poll was conducted using 1,027 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.
