A new poll from Fox News on Wednesday shows that 59 percent of registered voters think deportation efforts by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are “too aggressive.”
Newsweek reached out to a political analyst via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday was the second fatal shooting by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis this month, intensifying ongoing scrutiny of agent conduct.
The deaths of Pretti and Renee Nicole Good—also 37, who was shot dead on January 7—have prompted bipartisan calls for an independent investigation, sharpened debate over the legality of carrying firearms while protesting and heightened congressional oversight pressures. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have also called for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to resign.
Amid the scrutiny of immigration policy and directives, Democrats have moved to block a DHS funding bill.
What To Know
According to the Fox News poll, 59 percent say ICE’s deportation efforts are “too aggressive.” Seventeen percent think the efforts are not aggressive enough and 24 percent believe they’re “about right.” The “too aggressive” camp has grown 10 percent, rising from the 49 percent who felt as such in Fox’s July poll.
The poll surveyed 1,005 registered voters from January 23 to January 26 and has a margin of error of 3 percent.
Separately, the new Fox News poll underscored the political backdrop, finding that 54 percent of voters said the United States was worse off than a year earlier versus 31 percent who found America to be better off. President Donald Trump’s overall approval stood at 44 percent in the survey.
The poll also showed Trump’s approval rating on immigration underwater, with a 45 percent approval mark versus a 55 percent disapproval score. His approval rating on border security with the pollster is 52 percent compared to 47 percent disapproval.
The poll was released amid Operation Metro Surge, an intensified immigration enforcement campaign that has spurred legal challenges, street demonstrations and protests against the use of force by federal officers in the Twin Cities.
What People Are Saying
Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri, on X Wednesday: “I want my Republican colleagues to hear me on this. It’s not ICE or Border Patrol that is causing this terror. It is militant leftists and their enablers in the Democratic Party machine. ICE and Border Patrol are American heroes—and we owe them absolute, unflinching support.”
House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, on X Wednesday: “The Department of Homeland Security is supposed to keep the American people safe. Not brutalize or kill them. Why is that so difficult for Republicans in Congress to understand?”
Trump, on Truth Social Wednesday: “Surprisingly, Mayor Jacob Frey just stated that, ‘Minneapolis does not, and will not, enforce Federal Immigration Laws.’ This is after having had a very good conversation with him. Could somebody in his inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the Law, and that he is PLAYING WITH FIRE!”
What Happens Next
Lawmakers face a Friday deadline to fund DHS as Democrats seek to attach constraints on ICE operations.
