Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Poll: Few Democrats Favor Liberal Cry to Abolish ICE
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
August 29, 2018

Share

WASHINGTON — The rallying cry from some liberals to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) isn’t a likely winner this election year, as a new poll finds only a quarter of Democrats support eliminating the agency that carried out the Trump administration’s policy of separating immigrant children from their parents.
But even as they don’t want to fully dismantle ICE, 57 percent of Democrats view the agency negatively, including nearly three-fourths of those who describe themselves as liberal, according to a poll released Monday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The findings demonstrate tension among Democrats about how to address the crisis at the border that intensified in June when the Trump administration instituted a family separation policy to deter illegal immigration.
Some potential Democratic presidential contenders, such as Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, backed getting rid of ICE in response to the separations. Others, including Sen. Kamala Harris of California, urged a rethinking of the agency, but stopped short of calling for its abolition.

Seizing the Democratic Criticism of ICE

President Donald Trump has seized on the Democratic criticism of ICE to paint the party as weak on immigration and national security. The administration reversed its separation policy amid an international outcry, but hundreds of children remain separated from their families.

“Yes, there are more drugs and crime coming across the border than years ago. But you can’t keep kids in cages.” — Dianne Stone, retired bus driver from North Carolina
Overall, opinions about ICE are divided along partisan lines. While a majority of Democrats view the agency negatively, Republicans largely have favorable views of ICE.
A sizable chunk — a full one-third of Americans — are too unfamiliar with the agency to form an opinion.
Dianne Stone, a 68-year-old retired bus driver from Charlotte, North Carolina, said ICE should be modified but not scrapped. After spending decades living in Southern California, she said ICE ought to be less of a law enforcement agency and more dedicated to helping immigrants negotiate the border.
“Yes, there are more drugs and crime coming across the border than years ago. But you can’t keep kids in cages,” Stone said. “ICE can be part of a more sophisticated vetting process where you’re keeping criminals out.”
While many Americans say they do not know enough about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, there is little support for abolishing ICE, according to an AP-NORC poll.

Critical of the Progress in Reuniting Families

The public is largely critical of the administration’s progress in reuniting families. Nearly 6 in 10 think the Trump administration is doing too little, though 8 percent say it’s doing too much, and a third think it is doing enough.

“I thought it was horrific. ICE was just doing its job, following orders. But it’s the policy of separating families that needs to change, not abandon ICE.” — Anna Lee Lish, social worker from Idaho
Anna Lee Lish was appalled by the scenes of children separated from their parents at the border in June, but does not blame ICE for the problem.
“I thought it was horrific,” said the 60-year-old social worker from Pocatello, Idaho. “ICE was just doing its job, following orders. But it’s the policy of separating families that needs to change, not abandon ICE.”
The partisan divide is dramatic: 85 percent of Democrats say the administration is doing too little to reunite children with their families, compared to 22 percent of Republicans. Still, that means nearly a quarter of Republicans feel the administration should be doing more.
Reviews of Trump’s overall handling of immigration are also divided. More than three-quarters of Republicans have largely favorable views of the president’s immigration performance while more than 90 percent of Democrats disapprove. Nearly two-thirds of independent voters said they don’t approve of Trump’s handling of the issue.

Keeping it at Existing Levels

And while the Trump administration seeks to curb legal immigration, Americans are more likely to say they want to keep it at existing levels (42 percent) than to want the number of immigrants let in to be increased (29 percent) or decreased (28 percent).
The push to abolish ICE became something of a litmus test among liberal Democrats this summer after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unseated a 10-term party leader for a New York congressional seat in part by campaigning on the issue. But it hasn’t proved a political winner in other races.
Democrat Brent Welder, endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez in July, backed ending ICE but was narrowly beaten in an August primary in suburban Kansas. And no Democrats running in competitive Senate races in November have advocated abolishing ICE.
More common among prominent Democrats is the suggestion the agency be reformed.
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat running for Senate in Republican-heavy Arizona with its 378-mile (608-kilometer) border with Mexico, said last month that “ICE does provide some important functions,” though she has recommended changes to the agency.

DON'T MISS

Who Is Fresno’s ‘Fake’ ICE Agent? He Speaks Up

DON'T MISS

French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen Barred From Seeking Office for 5 Years

DON'T MISS

I Will Force Votes on Blocking Arms Sales to Israel: Sen. Bernie Sanders

DON'T MISS

Man Faces Life in Prison After Conviction for 2019 Visalia Murder

DON'T MISS

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

DON'T MISS

A Look at Fresno City College’s New $87 Million Science Building

DON'T MISS

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

DON'T MISS

‘Trump Slump’ Looms as Foreign Visitors Rethink Travel to US

DON'T MISS

White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War

DON'T MISS

Torpedo-Shaped Bats Draw Attention After Yankees Hit Team-Record 9 Homers

UP NEXT

Utah Becomes the First State to Ban Fluoride in Public Drinking Water

UP NEXT

Wilmer Flores’ 3-Run Homer in the 9th Inning Propels Giants to Victory Over Reds

UP NEXT

Democrats’ Popularity Plummets, yet Midterm Prospects Remain Strong

UP NEXT

USDA Explores Why US Egg Shortage Contrasts with Canada’s Abundant Supply

UP NEXT

Cuts Leave Social Security System in Disarray With Millions Affected

UP NEXT

Hyundai to Build $5.8B Steel Mill in Louisiana, Creating 5,400 Jobs

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Backs Biden’s Ghost Gun Regulation Requiring Serial Numbers, Background Checks

UP NEXT

Trump Signs Order Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote

UP NEXT

Former Utah Rep. Mia Love Dies. She Was 1st Black Republican Woman Elected to US House

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Block Rehiring of Fired Federal Workers

Man Faces Life in Prison After Conviction for 2019 Visalia Murder

2 hours ago

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

2 hours ago

A Look at Fresno City College’s New $87 Million Science Building

3 hours ago

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

3 hours ago

‘Trump Slump’ Looms as Foreign Visitors Rethink Travel to US

3 hours ago

White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War

3 hours ago

Torpedo-Shaped Bats Draw Attention After Yankees Hit Team-Record 9 Homers

3 hours ago

Silver Fire Grows to 1,250 Acres, Threatens Homes in Inyo County

4 hours ago

3 Kids Killed in Michigan When Tree Hits Vehicle During Weekend Storm

4 hours ago

March Madness Guide: All No. 1 Seeds in Final Four After Houston and Auburn Win

4 hours ago

Who Is Fresno’s ‘Fake’ ICE Agent? He Speaks Up

Abad Sandoval Gonzalez said he did nothing wrong when he donned a vest that police later said was meant to look like law enforcement and ent...

11 minutes ago

11 minutes ago

Who Is Fresno’s ‘Fake’ ICE Agent? He Speaks Up

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen poses prior to an interview on the evening news broadcast of French TV channel TF1, after a French court convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzlement and barred her from seeking public office for five years, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris. (Thomas Samson, Pool via AP)
25 minutes ago

French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen Barred From Seeking Office for 5 Years

35 minutes ago

I Will Force Votes on Blocking Arms Sales to Israel: Sen. Bernie Sanders

A Tulare County jury convicted Isaiah Elias Garcia, 25, on Friday, March 28, 2025, of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing a man during a 2019 fight in Visalia. (Tulare County DA)
2 hours ago

Man Faces Life in Prison After Conviction for 2019 Visalia Murder

Michael Froman discusses the potential impact of Trump's proposed "Liberation Day" tariffs in an interview with Fareed Zakaria. (Video Screenshot)
2 hours ago

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

Fresno City College students at the new Science Building
3 hours ago

A Look at Fresno City College’s New $87 Million Science Building

3 hours ago

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

A view of downtown San Diego, July 13, 2024. California is among the U.S. destinations that are ramping up marketing efforts to reassure international tourists that they are welcome. (John Francis Peters/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

‘Trump Slump’ Looms as Foreign Visitors Rethink Travel to US

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend