New poll shows most Americans hate ICE as Trump slips in popularity

New polls have revealed how Americans feel about the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid the Trump administration’s violent war on immigration, and it is – unsurprisingly – negative.

ICE, which was formed in response to the terror attacks on 11 September 2001, is a federal agency that enforces the United States’ immigration laws, identifying and deporting people who breach such laws as well as those who are viewed as a threat to national security.

Since Trump returned to the White House for his second term, his administration has made good on the vile, anti-immigration rhetoric of his election campaign by employing thousands of people as ICE agents to aid in carrying out mass deportations.

This crackdown on immigrants has led to US citizens and those legally seeking asylum in the US being unjustly detained and deported and, in some cases, those in custody subjected to physical and sexual abuse. Violent clashes between ICE agents and protesters have also been taking place in communities across the US, with mother and US citizen Renee Nicole Good shot and killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 7 January.

Many have made their disdain for ICE’s actions clear, with celebrities like Chappell Roan, Renee Rapp and Sabrina Carpenter calling out the agency, South Park airing a scathing episode that saw secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem mocked and New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, describing it as an “anti-civilian, paramilitary organisation”.

Now, a new polls show the majority of Americans feel ICE is making US cities less safe, the shooting on Good was an inappropriate use of force and the agency is acting “too tough” in the way it carries out its operations.

A CNN poll conducted by SSRS found just over half of Americans (51 per cent) believe ICE is making cities ‘less safe’, while 31 per cent believe the agency is increasing safety and 18 per cent do not feel it is having an effect.

The results also revealed more than half (56 per cent) of those surveyed feel the shooting of Good by ICE was an ‘inappropriate use of force’, with more than a quarter (26 per cent) saying it was appropriate and 18 per cent not knowing enough to comment.

Further to this, when respondents were asked if the shooting was an inappropriate use of force and also reflects bigger problems within ICE’s operations, 90 per cent agreed.

In a different poll, carried out by CBS News/YouGov, 61 percent of respondents said how ICE is conducting its operations is “too tough”, while 15 percent said they are “not tough enough”. Just under a quarter (24 per cent) also said they felt it was “about right”.

On the whole, the poll found people are increasingly doubting that criminals are the focus of the Trump administration’s detention and deportations, with 56 per cent of respondents saying ICE is prioritising ‘people who aren’t dangerous criminals’ – an increase from 52 percent in a previous poll.

During a segment on CNN, chief data analyst Harry Enten outlined how ICE’s approval ratings had plummeted by -17 points between Trump’s first and second terms while Trump’s own immigration ratings had dropped from 3 points to -16.

“The bottom line is this: ICE and Trump are losing the argument when it comes to the American people,” Enten said.

“They don’t like this immigration enforcement, and it is costing Trump political points.”