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Fact check: How do people feel about ICE?
Executive Summary
Public opinion about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is sharply divided and has trended more negative through mid-2025, with multiple polls showing rising disapproval even as other surveys report persistent support for certain enforcement actions; the data show both growing calls to abolish or restrict ICE and continued backing for deporting criminal or unauthorized migrants. Key tensions center on overall favorability and policy specifics—pathways to citizenship versus mass deportations—and on reactions to recent federal actions that expanded ICE’s budget and enforcement visibility [1] [2] [3].
1. A Popularity Freefall? Why ICE’s Ratings Look Worse Than Earlier This Year
Multiple mid-2025 analyses report a notable drop in ICE’s net favorability, moving from modestly positive early in the year to negative territory by June and July, with a late-June poll showing 56% of registered voters disapproving of how ICE performs its duties and one analysis reporting ICE’s net rating swinging from +15 in February to 13 points underwater by June [1]. These pieces link declining ratings to both high-profile federal enforcement actions and broader public unease about deportations, and one source emphasizes a simultaneous surge in public support for abolition, with 37% of registered voters backing that option in July [1]. The reporting frames the decline as both a response to agency behavior and to political signaling around immigration policy, suggesting a growing gap between ICE’s enforcement posture and public comfort with that posture [4].
2. Not All Americans Want ICE Gone: Support for Targeted Deportations Persists
Contrasting with abolitionist sentiment, several polls show sustained public support for deporting particular groups: 78% back deporting criminal undocumented immigrants, and 56% support deporting all illegal aliens in at least one national poll, indicating strong backing for enforcement where respondents perceive criminality or clear illegality [5]. Simultaneously, broader immigration attitudes reveal majorities favor pathways to citizenship for many undocumented immigrants—65% support such a pathway in another survey—highlighting a nuanced public stance that separates criminal enforcement from mass removals and embraces legalization for long-term residents [3]. These findings show Americans can simultaneously oppose agency practices while endorsing selective enforcement principles, complicating simple narratives that present public opinion as uniformly pro- or anti-ICE [5] [3].
3. Political Backlash and the Impact of Federal Policy Moves
Reporting across June and July 2025 ties declining favorability to recent federal decisions, notably a large proposed increase in ICE’s budget and the deployment of federal law enforcement resources to domestic jurisdictions, which some polls show voters disapprove of—57% disapproval on enforcement actions in one Quinnipiac finding—and independents appear particularly negative [6] [7]. Analysts note that budget expansion occurring amid rising public opposition to deportations creates a perception of growing federal assertiveness that is politically costly, with critics framing the moves as overreach and supporters framing them as necessary law enforcement [4]. The juxtaposition of increased funding and falling public ratings suggests policy choices and visibility matter more to ICE’s image than abstract support for immigration enforcement [6].
4. Conflicting Polls Reflect Different Questions and Stakes
The divergent poll results stem partly from question framing and timing: some surveys ask about general favorability toward ICE, others probe specific policies like deportation of criminals or support for legalization, and some were conducted before or after high-profile events that shifted attention [3] [2] [5]. For example, a late-June Quinnipiac poll measured disapproval of federal deployments and found 56–57% disapproval, while other polls taken around the same period showed a nearly even split on favorability (45% favorable, 43% unfavorable) and a plurality opposing abolition (45% oppose abolition) [2] [7]. These contrasts show poll differences reflect substantive variation in public priorities—crime enforcement versus humanitarian/legal pathways—rather than simple measurement error [2] [3].
5. Big Picture: A Nation Split, With Policy Nuance Driving Opinion
Across mid-2025 reporting and polling, the overarching picture is of a polarized public that differentiates between enforcement targets and enforcement methods: many Americans favor deporting criminals but also endorse pathways to citizenship and express disapproval of how ICE conducts some operations, fueling calls for abolition among a sizable minority even as others defend enforcement expansion [5] [3] [1]. The data reveal that ICE’s popularity is not a single metric but a cluster of attitudes tied to enforcement discretion, visibility, budget decisions, and broader trust in institutions; therefore, policy shifts, media coverage, and framing around rights and security will likely continue to drive rapid swings in public sentiment [8] [1].