Confidence in Immigration and Customs Enforcement fell in late January, with a majority of Americans saying they have "very little" confidence in the agency and Republicans reporting a statistically significant drop in trust, according to a new Economist/YouGov survey conducted Jan. 23-26.
Overall, 55% of U.S. adult citizens said they have "very little" confidence in ICE, while 14% reported "a great deal" and 16% reported "quite a lot," according to the poll's crosstabs.
The survey included 1,684 U.S. adult citizens and reported a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
Among Republicans, 60% said they have either "a great deal" (31%) or "quite a lot" (29%) of confidence in ICE. Among independents, 67% said they have "very little" confidence.
On funding, 51% said the federal government should decrease its spending on ICE, including 39% who said spending should be decreased "a lot."
The late-January findings marked a shift from mid-December, when 69% of Republicans reported either "a great deal" (31%) or "quite a lot" (38%) of confidence in ICE, and 49% of independents reported "very little" confidence.
The poll comes amid heightened scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7 and the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, events that have drawn competing accounts from federal officials and bystanders.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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