MAGA Support for ICE Remains Unshaken Despite Immigrant Killings
Despite ICE agents killing two immigrants and widespread civil rights violations, support for the agency among Trump's loyal followers remains extremely high, according to recent polls.
On Tuesday, a day after hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants lost their temporary protected status, Republican pundit Steve Bannon demanded their immediate removal. Conservative strategist Mike Davis agreed, calling for the Haitians to be deported as fast as possible. White nationalist Nick Fuentes described Haitians as "the worst of the worst" on his show.
In recent weeks, ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine. Both were in their vehicles. WIRED revealed that ICE is also tracking critics online and using data brokers to identify unaccompanied minors.
A YouGov poll found that 74% of MAGA Republicans have confidence in ICE, and 80% oppose abolishing it. Another poll by the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 73% of Republicans support internment camps for immigrants in the country illegally. However, only 51% of Republicans had heard about the shootings.
ICE is on track to deport 458,000 people this year, but Trump's base thinks it's too slow. The ACLU reported that ICE targeted 155 US citizens, including 32 children, in the first year of Trump's second term. Half of ICE arrests have no criminal record.
While a majority of Americans believe ICE uses too much force and nearly half want it abolished, Republican support remains strong. With midterms approaching, Republicans are betting that their base doesn't want ICE gone.
