A new poll reveals that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) now holds a mere 34 percent approval rating, a four-point drop from the previous month, as the American public turns against President Donald Trump's immigration raids. The Daily Mail/JL Partners survey highlights growing discontent following a series of controversial enforcement actions across the country.
Trump campaigned on a promise of mass deportations, and a Pew Research Center survey from August 2024 showed 56 percent of registered voters supported the idea. However, the reality of chaotic raids in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Charlotte, North Carolina, has shifted public opinion. One incident that drew widespread condemnation involved a daycare worker being dragged out of the Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Learning Center in Chicago by armed federal agents without a warrant.
Other incidents include federal agents detaining immigrants as they left court hearings, and a viral video from September showing masked agents throwing reporters to the ground inside a New York City immigration courthouse. High-profile cases, such as the detention of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil for over three months and the mistaken deportation of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, have further fueled public outrage.
The poll also found that among the 55 percent who disapprove of Trump's overall handling of the presidency, 41 percent cite immigration enforcement as a top reason. The declining approval suggests that the administration's hardline approach is increasingly unpopular as stories of aggressive tactics emerge.
