The tensions over aggressive immigration raids in Minnesota, particularly after the shooting of Renee Good, have brought the debate on deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally to a near-boiling point. Videos of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulling people out of their cars and questioning people about their citizenship and place of birth based on their appearance and accent have sparked outrage, as have incidents of citizens being detained.

President Donald Trump has shrugged this off by saying that ICE “is going to make mistakes sometimes.” Trump officials, as well as Trump supporters, argue that aggressive enforcement is needed to carry out the president’s mandate for mass deportations. And yet polls show that the public is increasingly turning against these tactics, which look more like a police state than America as we know it.

There is no question that concerns about illegal immigration were a major reason for Trump’s victory. But is there a........

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