A majority of Americans have little or no confidence in ICE

Sunday, August 09, 2026

After U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot and killed two people in Texas and Maine last week, this week's Economist / YouGov Poll finds that 60% of Americans have heard about the recent killings. It appears that the news has not spread equally across the political spectrum: While the overwhelming majority (78%) of Democrats say have read, seen, or heard anything about the killings last week, smaller shares of Independents (55%) and Republicans (51%) say the same.

Posted by LampLighter at 08:02 PM | 1 COMMENT | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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More from the poll ...

... The recent killings may have increased support for abolishing ICE. About half (48%) of Americans somewhat or strongly support abolishing the agency, while only 40% oppose doing so.

A majority (58%) of Americans who have heard about the recent killings support abolishing the agency, while only 36% oppose doing so.

In contrast, one-third (33%) of Americans who have not heard about the recent killings support abolishing ICE, while 50% oppose doing so.

To some extent the gap aligns with a partisan gap in likelihood of having heard of the killings, but among Independents, those who have heard of the killings are more likely than those who haven't to support abolishing ICE (55% vs. 47%).

The question about abolishing ICE followed the one asking about awareness of the killings, so every respondent was at least somewhat aware of the killings when weighing in on ICE abolition. ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-08-09 08:04 PM | Reply