Support for abolishing ICE reaches 50%

Support for abolishing ICE has hit a new high in this week's Economist / YouGov poll. Half (50%) of Americans now somewhat or strongly support abolishing ICE. Only 39% oppose abolishing the agency.

This marks the first time support has reached 50% in YouGov polling. Support for abolishing ICE has been steadily growing since January. At the same time, opposition to abolishing ICE has fallen since the start of the year, and now sits at an all-time low.

A few Economist/YouGov Polls before this year asked about abolishing ICE and each time more Americans opposed the idea than supported it.

While majorities of Democrats have supported abolishing ICE in many YouGov polls this year, this marks the first time that at least half of Independents support abolishing ICE (52%). Most Republicans (68%) continue to oppose abolishing ICE, although about one-quarter (23%) now support it, which also marks a high point in support among Republicans.

If ICE is not abolished, majorities of Americans would like to limit ICE officers' ability to act with anonymity. Three-quarters (75%) of Americans say that ICE officers should be required to wear uniforms that identify them as part of ICE. Only 14% say they should not. Majorities of Democrats (92%), Independents (77%), and Republicans (57%) support uniform requirements for ICE.

A majority (59%) of Americans also say ICE agents should not be allowed to wear masks that hide their faces. About one-third (31%) say they should be allowed. Most Democrats (87%) and Independents (68%) oppose ICE agents hiding their faces. In contrast, Republicans are more supportive of masks for ICE agents: 65% of Republicans say ICE agents should be allowed to wear masks that hide their faces, while only 20% say they should not.

Support for both restrictions has increased slightly since January, when 73% of Americans supported requiring ICE to wear uniforms and 56% opposed allowing them to wear masks that hide their identities. (The wording on the latest poll differs slightly for both questions.)

Why do so many Americans want to abolish ICE or restrict its ability to act anonymously? One factor is that many Americans distrust the agency. Only one-quarter (26%) of Americans say they have a great deal of confidence in ICE. Nearly half (44%) say they have no confidence in ICE at all.

This marks an increase since October, when 38% said they had no confidence in ICE. (Other Economist / YouGov Polls asking a slightly different way about confidence in ICE also have found an increase in the share of Americans lacking confidence in it.)

Several questions shed light on why Americans are increasingly distrustful of ICE:

• A majority (58%) of Americans say that ICE uses excessive force, a 7-percentage-point increase since October, when 51% said ICE has used too much force. About one-third (30%) say ICE's use of force has been necessary and justified, down from 34% in October.
• Only about one-quarter (27%) of Americans say that most or all or the people who are being deported by ICE are criminals. Nearly half (45%) say that criminals make up less than half of ICE deportees. These shares are about the same as the last time this question was asked at the end of January.
• Most Americans (68%) say there should be an investigation into the January shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, while only 18% say there should not be an investigation. Good was killed by an ICE agent, while Pretti was killed by Border Patrol officers who were assisting with ICE actions in Minneapolis. This is similar to the shares who supported investigations in past questions that asked individually about the shootings of Good and Pretti.

Image: Getty (Michael M. Santiago / Staff)

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