Support for Trump’s immigration efforts drops sharply after Minnesota shootings | Donald Trump
Support for Donald Trump’s immigration efforts has fallen dramatically following a wave of public outcry over scenes of violence involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis, new poll figures show.
The numbers come as administration officials continue to double down on increasingly dangerous ICE enforcement.
Nearly half (49%) of American adults strongly disapprove of the Trump administration’s stance on border security and immigration. According to NBC poll.
The numbers represent a double-digit decline in support for the president’s performance on immigration, the issue at the heart of Trump’s campaign call, compared with a similar poll conducted last summer; 38% said they strongly disapproved. An earlier poll last April showed 34% disapprove.
Pollsters attribute the rising disapproval rates to the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in separate incidents by federal agents assigned to Minneapolis. Senior administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, condemned both Good and Pretti as “domestic terrorists” immediately following their deaths.
Nearly 60% of those asked in the week following the death of Pretti, a critical care nurse at a VA hospital, said they disapproved of Trump’s immigration and border policies.
Trump’s declining support on a major issue is matched by declining approval ratings overall; A number of recent polls, including those from NBC, also showed Trump’s support at 39%.
NBC’s poll of nearly 22,000 adults suggested that the deaths of Good and Pretti had a disproportionate impact on perceptions compared with earlier controversies about immigration agents in other cities.
“Those didn’t move the needle very much,” NBC election analyst Marc Trussler said of the poll. “It’s actually the chaos in Minnesota that did this.”
The survey also revealed a fundamental hostility toward ICE; Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they wanted the agency to be reformed or abolished. A large majority said immigration officials went too far. About 63% expressed opposition to agents wearing masks, while 58% disagreed with the idea that normal, “law-abiding citizens” have nothing to fear from immigration agents.
While more people blamed the administration rather than protesters for violent street clashes, 63% said the federal government had acted excessively in ignoring or overriding local or state governments.
A similar majority, 62%, say they do not trust the federal government to conduct fair investigations into the deaths of Good and Pretti after local investigators were excluded from the investigations.
The poll also showed a growing divide between traditional Republicans and Trump allies on immigration. For example, 59 percent of traditionalists supported an investigation into the agents who killed Pretti, while only 38 percent of Trump-supporting Republicans did.
The findings come as authorities continue to take an uncompromising stance on ICE agents, with several prominent figures, including J.D. Vance, claiming the agents have “absolute immunity” in their operations.
He will testify before the House of Representatives homeland security committee on Tuesday.Todd Lyons, the agency’s acting chief, was unrepentant about his actions.
“Let me send a message to anyone who thinks they can intimidate us. You will fail,” he told MPs. “We’re just getting started.”
Lyons expressed anger at comparisons of the agency’s behavior to the Nazi Gestapo, saying such rhetoric puts agents at risk. In response, Dan Goldman, a Democratic representative from New York, told him: “I have a simple suggestion: If you don’t want to be remembered as a fascist regime or secret police, stop acting like one.”
At least two dozen ICE agents have been charged with crimes since 2020. Study conducted by Associated Press to create. Abuses included physical and sexual abuse, corruption and other abuses of power.
Most of the crimes occurred before Congress last year gave the Department of Homeland Security $75 billion to hire more agents. But commentators expressed concern about the rapid pace of expansion and questioned whether hires were adequately vetted.
