Majority of Americans Say ICE Operations Are ‘Too Tough’ While Republicans Overwhelmingly Say Protesters Have Gone Too Far, Survey Finds
A majority of Americans say Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations are “too tough” and that the agency’s actions are making communities less safe, according to a new national survey by CBS News and YouGov.
The poll found more respondents described ICE’s approach to stopping and detaining people as excessively harsh than said it was appropriate. A slight majority also said ICE activity makes the communities where it operates less safe, while fewer said it improves safety.
According to a CBS News poll, 61% of Americans now think ICE is being “too tough” when stopping and detaining people and 52% think ICE is making communities “less safe.”
— AF Post (@AFpost) January 18, 2026
50% of Americans like Trump’s deportation goals, but 63% don’t like his “approach.”
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Views of the deportation program’s goals remain mixed, but assessments of how it is being carried out are negative. The survey showed Americans are increasingly likely to say the administration is not prioritizing dangerous criminals and is instead attempting to deport more people than they expected. More respondents said they believed law-abiding immigrants were being targeted than said the program was focused mainly on criminals.
Public attitudes shifted after an incident in Minneapolis in which an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good. In the wake of that shooting, overall support for the deportation program, which had been closely divided for months, fell to its lowest point of President Donald Trump’s second term, the survey found.
The poll also showed sharp partisan divisions. Republicans overwhelmingly said protesters opposing ICE operations have gone too far. Democrats and independents were more likely to view the protests as justified and to say ICE operations should be scaled back.
🚨 NEW: Huge CBS Poll REVEALS “Republicans remain very strongly supportive” of the program to deport illegals, and they say “protesters against ICE operations have gone too far.” pic.twitter.com/XVrUncUqIO
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) January 18, 2026
Views of the Minneapolis shooting similarly broke along party lines. Republicans were more likely to describe the agent’s actions as justified, while Democrats and independents said they were not. Non-MAGA Republicans were less likely than MAGA supporters to defend the shooting.
Separate polling by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released in mid-January showed Trump’s approval rating on immigration had dropped to 38%, down from 49% earlier in the year. That poll was conducted shortly after the Minneapolis shooting and indicated that immigration, previously one of Trump’s stronger issues, had become an area of greater vulnerability even as his overall job approval remained relatively stable.
Internal Republican polling reviewed by Trump’s advisers and reported by Axios showed similar concerns. According to that report, private surveys found declining support for the administration’s immigration policies among independents, moderates and minority voters. About one-third of respondents in those surveys said they believed the administration was primarily deporting law-abiding people rather than criminals.
A senior adviser told Axios the president remained committed to mass deportations but was uneasy about how they were being perceived publicly, saying, “He wants deportations. He wants mass deportations. What he doesn’t want is what people are seeing.”
