ICE

Joe Lancaster | 1.20.2026 1:10 PM

Donald Trump was reelected to the presidency in 2024 after pledging to carry out the "largest deportation operation in American history." In the first year of his second term, he followed through on his promise, weaponizing the agencies of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and deploying thousands of federal troops into major U.S. cities like an occupying army.

Earlier this month, the death of Renee Good at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Jonathan Ross brought overly aggressive federal law enforcement into public view. As a result, more Americans than ever now think we should get rid of it.

"More Americans now support the abolishment of ICE, in a major change since July and in Donald Trump's first presidency," Forbes' Mike Stunson wrote last week, "as the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal officer has led to a wave of backlash against the agency."

Stunson cited a January 2026 poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov, which found that 46 percent of respondents support abolishing ICE, with 43 percent opposed. The same poll found 50 percent felt Good's shooting was "not justified," while only 30 percent said it was justified.

A separate poll by Civiqs found 43 percent of respondents support ending ICE, with 49 percent opposed. Notably, though, this represents a dramatic shift since only a few months ago. In September 2024, only 19 percent supported, and 66 percent opposed, abolishing the agency.

It was also the highest number in favor of abolition, and the lowest number against, since Civiqs began asking the question in July 2018, when the #AbolishICE movement began in earnest. (At that time, respondents favored keeping the agency intact by a 2–to–1 margin.)

And an Associated Press/NORC poll shows 61 percent of Americans now oppose Trump's handling of immigration; as recently as March 2025, respondents were evenly split.

The reason for the shift is clear:........

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