Do Americans support or oppose ICE? Here's what a poll found amid LA protests
In the latest YouGov/Economist poll, roughly equal shares of respondents expressed support for and opposition to ICE. And, while there is little appetite for abolishing the agency, most respondents think ICE agents should be required to adhere to certain practices.
Here is a breakdown of the results from the poll, which comes after anti-ICE protests erupted in Los Angeles, California, leading President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops to the area.
Favorability of ICE
In the poll — which sampled 1,533 U.S. adults June 6 to 9 — a slim plurality of respondents, 45%, said they held a favorable view of ICE. Meanwhile, 43% said they had an unfavorable view.
On this question, there was a yawning partisan divide, with 81% of Republicans holding a positive view and 79% of Democrats holding a negative view. Independents were about evenly split — 41% unfavorable vs. 40% favorable.
Abolishing ICE?
Despite this fierce divide, a sizable plurality of respondents, 45%, said they oppose abolishing ICE and replacing it with a different agency. Less than a third of respondents, 27%, said they would favor shutting down ICE.
But, again, there were significant differences based on partisanship.
Most Republicans, 69%, said they oppose abolishing ICE, while a plurality of Republicans, 47%, said they are in favor of this idea. A plurality of independents, 39%, oppose this.
Uniforms and masks
By and large, Americans favor requiring ICE agents to clearly identify themselves and refrain from hiding their identities, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
More than two-thirds of respondents, 68%, said ICE officers should be required to wear uniforms when conducting operations. Just 18% opposed this.
Further, a plurality of respondents, 47%, opposed allowing ICE officers to wear masks to conceal their identities during arrests. Thirty-nine percent said this should be allowed.
In recent weeks, ICE agents have been documented carrying out operations in plain clothes and equipped with masks, according to the Houston Chronicle and Reuters.
Anti-ICE protests
A separate YouGov poll — conducted on June 9 with 4,231 U.S. adults — asked respondents about the anti-ICE protests that sprang up in Los Angeles during the first weekend of June, resulting in more than 50 arrests. Following the outbreak of demonstrations, Trump dispatched around 2,000 National Guard troops to the area.
'If I didn't 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now,' the president wrote on Truth Social on June 10.
Trump also threatened to arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom for obstructing the federal government's immigration enforcement policies.
Newsom responded by suing the Trump administration, arguing that the president has illegally federalized the California National Guard.
'This is a manufactured crisis,' Newsom wrote on X. '(Trump) is creating fear and terror to take over a state militia and violate the U.S. constitution.'
In the poll, a plurality of respondents, 45%, said they disapprove of the anti-ICE protests, while 36% said they approve of them.
Most Republicans, 73%, and a plurality of independents, 41%, oppose them, while most Democrats, 58%, are in favor.
That said, most respondents, 56%, believe state and local authorities should take the lead in responding to the protests. Just 25% said the federal government should organize the response.
Most Democrats and independents — 72% and 56%, respectively — favor a state- and local-led response, while a plurality of Republicans, 46%, want the Trump administration to spearhead the response.
Further, respondents were about evenly divided when it came to the nature of the Los Angeles protests, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 2 percentage points. A slim plurality, 38%, said they are mostly peaceful, while 36% said they are mostly violent.
Most Democrats, 64%, labeled the protests as mostly peaceful, while most Republicans, 66%, described them as mostly violent. Independents were about evenly split — 35% mostly peaceful vs. 33% mostly violent.
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