Most Americans say ICE has ‘gone too far’ in new poll
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast for Thursday, February. February, it's the hardest word of the year. Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast for Thursday, February 5th, 2026. I'm Tamara Keith. I cover the White House. I'm Ashley Lopez. I cover politics.
And I'm Domenico Montanaro, senior political editor and correspondent.
Today on the show, we have a new NPR PBS News Marist poll, and it finds a significant share of Americans say ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has gone too far. Domenico, after the past month of intense focus on ICE tactics and alarming video out of Minnesota, maybe it doesn't come as a total surprise, but help us understand the numbers.
Yeah, the 65 percent in this poll who say that ICE has gone too far is up 11 points since last summer. So a big reason has been everything that we've seen on TV. You know, the two American citizens who have been killed just in the past few weeks over this. And really, the biggest movement has been with independents and Democrats. By double digits, they've moved to saying that ICE has gone too far. When you take Republicans out of it, it's just huge numbers. I mean, 93 percent of Democrats, not surprising, right? but also 71 percent of independents who Trump did fairly well with in the 2024 election, saying that they think ICE has gone too far.
Observing independent voters sort of talk about immigration is interesting because by and large, I have heard independent voters say, especially swing voters say, like, Closing the border in general is something that they approve of, but it is this extra element of ICE and the killings we've been seeing and what's been going on in Minneapolis that has been obviously the big impetus for this change. I think if, you know, Trump had just sort of stayed focused on the border, this would be a different conversation. But it's all this extra stuff that's been going on that, from what I'm observing, is pushing a lot of independent voters.
And it irritates Trump, too, the fact that the narrative has gone toward ISIS tactics rather than talking about the border.
What do recent polls reveal about public opinion on ICE?
We've heard that from a lot of Republicans on Capitol Hill who continue to talk about that. But it's of their own making, frankly. I mean, that's the reason people are focused on it is because they're seeing what they're seeing on TV. You have two Americans killed in these kinds of law enforcement activities. It's going to get a lot of attention.
Another group of voters that President Trump made a decent amount of progress with in 2024 was Latino voters. Where do they come down on this?
Well, overall, Latino voters have really soured on President Trump. And we've seen that over lots of polls over several months. You know, this is a group that Trump did better than any Republican president in history with Latino voters or 46 percent of Latino voters, according to CNN. exit polls.
How have recent events influenced perceptions of ICE actions?
So setting that as the baseline, the fact that only 38 percent in this poll approve of the job that Trump is doing, some 70 percent of Latinos disagree with how ICE is conducting their enforcement activities, saying that they think that ICE has gone too far, that they disapprove of ICE's tactics. Look, far and away, the economy prices have been the thing that Latino voters have said that they care most about. And on that, too, you have a majority of people overall saying that they think that the Trump administration should be focused on lowering prices and a plurality of Latinos as well.
One small thing on Latinos as well is that, I mean, obviously ICE tactics are part of this, but there is a compounding issue with a lot of Latino communities right now. A lot of... Like immigrants from different countries have lost their temporary protected status in the past several months. And that has really made Latino pollsters have told me that has really frustrated a lot of Latino voters who feel like they did things the right way and they have legal status. And that has, you know, just been one of the many things that has made these communities like really upset.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:04–1:57
2
What do recent polls reveal about public opinion on ICE?
1:57–2:38
3
How have recent events influenced perceptions of ICE actions?
2:38–4:54
4
What shifts have occurred among independents and Democrats regarding ICE?
4:54–9:57
5
How do Latino voters view Trump's immigration policies?
9:57–12:48
6
What are the economic concerns of Latino voters according to the poll?
12:48–17:41