Half of Americans support abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
a new poll found, as opposition to Donald Trump’s aggressive federal immigration crackdown continues to grow.
YouGov analysis found that exactly 50% of respondents “strongly or somewhat” want to see the agency abolished, an increase of 5% from a survey conducted in January amid the deaths of US citizen protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretty by immigration officers in Minnesota.
Only 39% said they opposed dismantling ICE, a significant drop from January when those in favour and against were evenly split at 45%. YouGov said the latest poll is the first time that the number of Americans calling for the agency to be abolished, a frequent demand of left-wing Democrats, has reached 50%.
This mirrors an NBC poll last month in which 49% disapproved of Trump’s handling of border security and immigration, traditionally a vote winner from his Republican base.
The revelation comes amid a partial government shutdown over funding of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for enforcing the Trump administration’s often violent detention and deportation policies.
It also follows a difficult appearance by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem before Congress on Tuesday, which came under fire from representatives from both sides of the House. He was challenged by an ICE agent over his handling of immigration cases and a fatal shooting during anti-immigration enforcement protests in Minneapolis on January 7, and Pretti was challenged by U.S. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers questioned Pretti 17 days later.
Noem stood by her statement calling the two unarmed protesters “domestic terrorists”, despite presenting no evidence to support the claim.
“When we have situations like this, we always offer our condolences to those families, and I offer my condolences as well,” Noem said in response to a demand by Dick Durbin, a Democratic Illinois senator and ranking member of the chamber’s Judiciary Committee, to drop the terrorism charge.
Durbin pointed out that ICE and CBP officials testified to the House Judiciary Committee last month that they did not brief Noem that Preeti was specifically a domestic terrorist and again asked her to withdraw the claim.
“I was getting reports from the ground, from agents on the scene, and I would say it was a chaotic scene,” Noem said.
“Is it too hard to say that you were wrong?” Durbin replied.
Noem’s performance overall has reportedly come under scrutiny from Trump, who on several occasions has appeared to soften her administration’s hardline stance on immigration to garner public support ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump’s so-called border czar, Tom Homan, announced last month that the controversial immigration crackdown in Minnesota would be “ended” in the presence of thousands of federal officers.
Homan was sent to Minneapolis to defuse tensions following the removal of the public face of “Operation Metro Surge”, senior Border Patrol officer Gregory Bovino, who was often photographed directing agents wearing German military-style overcoats.
Bovino is now the subject of a state investigation for misconduct by federal officials during the operation and a separate Department of Homeland Security investigation for derogatory comments he allegedly made about Daniel Rosen, the U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, who is Jewish.
However, weeks after Homan’s announcement, about 650 federal agents remain in the state, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. Reported on Wednesday.
Analysis of Wednesday’s A YouGov poll shows that 77% of Democrats and 52% of independents support dismantling ICE.
The majority of Republican supporters, 68%, continue to oppose abolition, although the number in favour has increased to 23%, a “high point” according to YouGov.
