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New polling indicates that a majority of Americans believe the killing of Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent was not justified, and do not trust the federal government to conduct its own investigation into the killing.
A CNN/SSRS poll published on Wednesday shows that 52 percent of Americans believe that the Trump administration’s efforts to deport “immigrants living in the United States illegally” have gone too far. In a separate question, 58 percent of Americans said they disapprove of President Donald Trump’s performance on the issue of immigration, while only 42 percent said they approve — a -16-point net approval rating, which is a 19-point swing from his +3-point net approval from the start of the year.
Asked whether ICE is making American cities safer, only 31 percent said they believe the agency is achieving that goal, while 51 percent said ICE is making cities less safe.
A plurality of Americans, 47 percent, also worry that the feds will “go too far in cracking down” on demonstrations against Trump’s deportation policies, while only 37 percent worry that protests will “get out of control.”
The polling comes just a week after an ICE agent shot and killed Good while she was attempting to drive away from agents in her neighborhood. The administration, which has falsely characterized Good as a “domestic terrorist,” is now conducting a questionable inquiry into her killing in a seeming attempt to blame her for her own death, blocking state investigators from taking part in the investigation.
By a two-to-one margin, the poll found that most respondents, 56 percent, view Good’s killing by an ICE agent as an inappropriate use of force, with just a quarter of Americans, 26 percent, saying it was appropriate.
Only 17 percent of Americans say they would trust the federal government’s inquiry into her killing “a great deal,” while another 21 percent say they would only have “moderate” trust in the inquiry. Meanwhile, 62 percent said they would trust an inquiry conducted solely by the feds “some” amount or “not at all.”
Several polls since Good’s death have revealed a deep skepticism of ICE among the American public. A YouGov survey from last week, for example, shows a net -13-point approval rating for the agency — a drastic shift from the +16-point approval rating the agency had at the start of 2025.
An Economist/YouGov poll published on Tuesday also found plurality support for abolishing the agency altogether, with 46 percent backing that idea and 43 percent opposed.
Despite the waning popularity of ICE — including among independent voters, who want to see the agency abolished by a net rate of +12 points — Democratic lawmakers and potential midterm candidates are not campaigning on abolishing the agency, which was only established in 2003.
“House Democrats want accountability and oversight of ICE,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-California), the number-three Democrat in the House, recently said.
Even the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is taking a milquetoast approach to the matter, issuing a statement indicating only that its members will oppose “any appropriations bill that provides any funding to immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security unless there are meaningful and significant reforms to immigration enforcement practices.”
Several critics decried Democratic leaders for discounting the American public’s increasing support for ending ICE for good as the agency conducts violent raids and terrorizes immigrant communities across the country.
“It’s hard to be an opposition party when you refuse to oppose the blatantly illegal and immoral things being done by the opposition,” said Melanie D’Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health.
“There is no ‘good’ version of ICE. There is no lawful version of ICE,” Cameron Kasky, anti-gun violence advocate, said in a post on X. “Abolish ICE, reveal their identities, and start prosecuting their crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Defund. Abolish. Prosecute. ICE is lawless and destructive,” constitutional law professor Anthony Michael Kreis said.
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