On January 7 in Minneapolis, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good. The shooting sparked an escalation in protests against ICE, an agency that has drawn increasing criticism since the Trump administration significantly increased its funding and hiring and deployed agents to cities across the U.S.
YouGov polling in October 2025 found that majorities of Americans disapproved of ICE and had concerns about the agency's treatment of both citizens and immigrants. New YouGov polling shows that majorities of Americans say that Ross' shooting of Good was not justified and that it should lead to criminal charges. More broadly, Americans view ICE far less favorably than several other federal agencies. Nearly half of Americans now say that ICE should be eliminated as a federal agency entirely, a significant increase from past polling. Majorities of Americans support major changes that would place new restrictions on ICE. (The findings on this poll are largely consistent with other recent YouGov polling about ICE and the shooting conducted in partnership with the Economist and Yahoo News.)
Majorities of Americans say the ICE agent was not justified in the Minneapolis shooting and should face criminal charges
Two-thirds (67%) of Americans say they have heard a lot about Ross shooting and killing Good (the question didn't name either person). Only 11% say they have not heard about the shooting. Democrats are more likely than Independents and Republicans to say they have heard a lot about the shooting (80% vs. 61%).
Additionally, most Americans (70%) say they have seen video footage of the shooting. Only one-quarter (26%) say they have not seen any video footage.
A majority (53%) of Americans say that Ross was not justified in shooting Good. Only 28% say the shooting was justified. While majorities of Democrats (88%) and Independents (58%) believe the shooting was not justified, only 15% of Republicans agree. A majority (61%) of Republicans say that Ross was justified in shooting Good.
A majority (53%) of Americans say that Ross should face criminal charges for shooting Good. Only 30% say he should not face charges. Majorities of Democrats (90%) and Independents (54%) say Ross should face charges, but only 14% of Republicans agree. A majority (63%) of Republicans say he should not.
Most Americans think ICE often uses unnecessary force against people, regardless of immigration status or violations of immigration law
Taking a broader view, most Democrats and Independents think that ICE uses unnecessary physical force against U.S. citizens, authorized immigrants, and unauthorized immigrants. About 90% of Democrats, 60% of Independents, and 30% of Republicans say ICE sometimes or often uses unnecessary force against each group.
In our October poll, Americans were more likely to say that ICE uses unnecessary force against unauthorized immigrants than to say the agency uses unnecessary force against U.S. citizens or immigrants who have not committed any violations. That distinction still exists among Republicans: 35% say ICE uses unnecessary force against unauthorized immigrants, compared to 28% who say they use unnecessary force against U.S. citizens. But Democrats and Independents are now slightly more likely to say ICE uses unnecessary force against U.S. citizens than to say it does so against unauthorized immigrants.
A majority (53%) of Americans say that ICE's tactics are too forceful, compared to just 12% who say they are not forceful enough. And nearly half (46%) of Americans say they are somewhat or very concerned that ICE could mistreat someone they know, equal to the share who say they are not very or not at all concerned about this (46%). More Americans approve than disapprove of recent protests against ICE (49% vs. 42%). These figures are all similar to those expressed by Americans in the October poll of attitudes about ICE.
Half of Americans view ICE unfavorably
More generally, about half (52%) of Americans have a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of ICE. Only 40% view the agency favorably. For comparison, we also asked Americans about their views of eight other federal agencies. ICE is the only agency included in our poll that is viewed unfavorably by more Americans than the share who view it favorably. It is also the agency viewed favorably by the smallest share of Americans, and unfavorably by the largest. The next least popular agencies in the survey — the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — are viewed unfavorably by only 39% of Americans each.
While ICE is unpopular overall, views are highly polarized by party. The agency is overwhelmingly viewed negatively by Democrats: ICE has a net favorability rating of −68 among Democrats, meaning the share of Democrats with unfavorable opinions of ICE is 68 percentage points larger than the share who have favorable opinions. No other agency in our poll comes close to such a negative outlook among Democrats. The next lowest net favorability among Democrats is for the FBI: −4. In contrast, Republicans overwhelmingly view ICE favorably, giving the agency a net favorability of +57. This means ICE is viewed more favorably by Republicans than all but one other agency in our survey: the National Weather Service (+60). The NWS is also the most popular agency in the survey among Democrats (+66) and Americans overall (+64).
Nearly half of Americans would eliminate ICE as a federal agency
Americans are divided over whether ICE should be abolished entirely: 42% somewhat or strongly support eliminating the agency, while 45% oppose doing so. While there is not majority support for eliminating ICE, support for this position has increased since Donald Trump's first term as president. In 2018, 29% of Americans supported abolishing ICE, and in 2019, 33% supported it — according to polls that, unlike the latest one, specified that if ICE were abolished, it would be replaced with a different agency.
Younger adults are particularly likely to support eliminating ICE. A majority (58%) of adults under 30 would eliminate the agency, as would nearly half of Americans between 30 and 44 (46%, compared to 35% who oppose eliminating it) — both higher than in 2019. There has also been an increase in support among older Americans, though a majority of Americans 45 and older still oppose eliminating ICE.
Majorities of Americans say ICE needs big change and restrictions
A majority (56%) of Americans say that deaths caused by ICE agents or in ICE custody show that there is a fundamental problem with ICE that needs to be fixed. Only 28% of Americans say that these deaths are unavoidable and do not show that there is a fundamental problem with ICE. Majorities of Democrats (90%) and Independents (59%) say that these deaths reflect a problem in ICE that needs to be fixed. Only 19% of Republicans agree; a majority (61%) do not see these deaths as indicative of a fundamental problem.
Americans are more likely to support than to oppose several changes to ICE that would place more restrictions on the agency. Two-thirds (68%) of Americans strongly or somewhat support creating stricter recruitment requirements for ICE agents. A majority (58%) support criminally prosecuting any ICE agent who kills someone. And more Americans support than oppose reducing ICE's size and funding (49% vs. 38%).
In contrast, more Americans oppose than support keeping ICE in its current form (49% vs. 37%). Expanding ICE and loosening restrictions on its recruitment are even less popular. Half of Americans oppose expanding ICE's size and funding (50% vs. 36% who support it). A majority (63%) oppose loosening recruitment requirements so that ICE can hire new agents more quickly.
While there is majority support for proposals that would restrict ICE and widespread opposition to expanding the agency, these potential changes are viewed very differently by Democrats and Republicans. While Democrats overwhelmingly support creating stricter recruitment requirements for ICE, criminally prosecuting ICE agents who kill people, and reducing the agency's size and funding, far fewer Republicans support these changes. In contrast, majorities of Republicans support keeping ICE in its current form and expanding its size and funding. One source of some agreement: Less than half of both Democrats and Republicans support loosening recruitment requirements so that ICE can hire new agents more quickly, though this proposal is still opposed by far more Democrats than Republicans.
In addition to supporting several other restrictions to ICE, majorities of Americans support rules that would make ICE agents more identifiable. Over two-third (69%) of Americans say agents should be required to wear uniforms when making arrests, compared to just 17% who say uniforms should not be required. And a majority (55%) say that ICE agents should not be allowed to wear masks that hide their identities when making arrests, compared to 31% who say such masks should be allowed.
Majorities of Democrats and Independents support requiring uniforms and banning face masks for ICE agents. Republicans are also more likely to support than to oppose uniform requirements (44% vs. 37%), but a majority of Republicans (63%) would allow ICE agents to wear masks that hide their identities. Only 23% wouldn't allow it.
A majority of Americans also believe that ICE should comply with instructions from states' governors, not just from federal leaders. About half (48%) of Americans say that if a state's governor calls on ICE to leave an area, agents should be required to leave. A further 11% say that agents should voluntarily leave, though they should not be required to do so. Only about one-quarter (27%) of Americans say ICE should not leave an area after a governor calls on them to do so.
A majority of Americans say ICE should stay away from schools
After an ICE agent shot Good, and other agents were seen outside a high school, Minneapolis Public Schools and neighboring districts closed schools to ensure students would be safe from ICE activities. A majority (58%) of Americans say this closure was a reasonable precaution, while only 31% say it was an unreasonable reaction. While majorities of Democrats (83%) and Independents (60%) say the closure was reasonable, only 30% of Republicans do. A majority of Republicans (61%) say it was unreasonable.
More broadly, most Americans (64%) say that ICE agents should not be allowed on K-12 school campuses. Only 20% say they should be allowed. While most Democrats (87%) and Independents (68%) say ICE agents should not be allowed on school campuses, Republicans are about evenly split: 39% of Republicans say agents should be allowed on campuses, while 36% say they should not.
— Carl Bialik contributed to this article
See the results for this YouGov survey
Related articles:
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- Majorities of Americans disapprove of ICE and say the agency mistreats citizens and immigrants
- What do Americans think about immigrants? It depends on how you ask
- Americans are far more likely to say immigration detention centers should provide clean drinking water than to say they do
- A quarter of Millennials would shut down Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on January 9 - 11, 2026, among 1,129 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, region, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4 points.
Image: Getty (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland / Stringer)
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