70% of Americans say ICE is not making cities safer.
Executive summary
The claim that "70% of Americans say ICE is not making cities safer" is not supported by the polling cited in contemporary coverage: a CNN/SSRS poll finds 51% of Americans say ICE enforcement is making cities less safe and 31% say it is making them safer, with 18% saying little effect [1]. Other polls show similar but not identical splits — for example, YouGov/Economist found 47% saying ICE makes cities less safe versus 34% saying it makes them more safe [2] — but none of the provided reporting documents a 70% majority opposing ICE on safety grounds.
1. What the polls actually say: a narrow majority, not 70%
Multiple outlets reporting on fresh polling after the Minneapolis shooting point to a modest majority of Americans viewing ICE enforcement as reducing safety — CNN’s poll shows 51% saying enforcement actions make cities less safe, 31% say safer and 18% say little effect [1] [3], while YouGov/Economist produced a similar but slightly smaller gap (47% less safe vs. 34% more safe) [2]; none of the sources supplied here corroborate a 70% figure.
2. Partisan fault lines reshape the headline numbers
The headline majorities obscure a stark partisan divide: Democrats overwhelmingly say ICE makes cities less safe (CNN: 82% of Democrats; YouGov: 87% of Democrats in their reporting) and Republicans largely say the opposite (CNN: 67% of Republicans say ICE makes cities safer; YouGov reports 77% of Republicans) [3] [2]. That polarization means national aggregates can swing with sampling, timing, or question wording — and helps explain why different polls produce somewhat different margins even while pointing the same direction.
3. Recent events and media attention pushed perceptions sharply
Reporting ties the polling shift to the widely viewed video of the ICE agent’s fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis; CNN and other outlets note that most Americans judged the shooting an inappropriate use of force and that roughly half saw it as symptomatic of broader ICE problems, context that likely depressed public confidence in the agency [1] [4]. Newsweek and CBS/YouGov reporting also found growing public concern that ICE is targeting broader populations rather than only dangerous offenders, a perception that correlates with declines in the sense that ICE improves community safety [5].
4. Why a 70% number is implausible given available evidence
A 70% figure would represent a near-consensus very different from the clustered mid-40s-to-low-50s results reported across multiple polls; none of the supplied sources report such a large majority. Variation across credible surveys here is in the single digits or low teens, not the 40-point swing required to reach 70%, and the presence of strong partisan splits makes a uniform 70% unlikely without a major methodological or definitional difference not mentioned in the reporting [1] [2] [5].
5. Alternative explanations, agendas and limitations in the reporting
Coverage and poll results can be shaped by timing (polls conducted days after a high-profile shooting), question wording, sample composition and media framing; outlets emphasize the Minneapolis shooting and partisan reactions, which both amplify perceptions and carry political stakes — Democrats and immigration advocates may use the findings to press for restraint or reform, while Republican officials push law-and-order narratives and defend ICE actions [1] [3] [5]. The reporting does not provide raw questionnaires or full cross-tabs here, so claims about precise public sentiment beyond the published margins are limited to what the pollsters released.
6. Bottom line: majority concern, not nearly-universal consensus
Contemporary polling as reported shows a clear majority of Americans — roughly half — saying ICE enforcement makes cities less safe, with significant partisan polarization and some variation across polls, but there is no evidence in the provided reporting that 70% of Americans hold that view; the best-supported figure across multiple sources is in the low 50s or high 40s for “less safe” [1] [2] [5].