Voter Disapproval of ICE Hits Record High as Funding Debate Intensifies
A new Fox News poll reveals nearly 60% of voters now disapprove of ICE's performance — the highest rating ever recorded — while almost half want Congress to cut its funding.
Disapproval of ICE Reaches All-Time High, New Poll Shows
Public opinion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has hit its lowest point on record, with a significant and growing share of American voters expressing dissatisfaction with how the agency operates. According to a newly released Fox News poll, conducted before President Trump announced his intention to nominate Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) as the next Secretary of Homeland Security to succeed Kristi Noem, nearly six in ten registered voters now disapprove of ICE's job performance.
This marks the highest disapproval rating the agency has received since Fox News began tracking the question in 2018 — a jump of 17 percentage points over that period and 7 points since last fall alone.
Who Is Driving the Shift?
The surge in negative sentiment is not uniform across the electorate. Pollsters identified several demographic groups as primary drivers of the increasing disapproval:
- Voters under 30 showed the sharpest single-period increase, up 17 points compared to September
- Independent voters moved 13 points more disapproving
- Men shifted 11 points toward disapproval
- Democrats increased their disapproval by 8 points
Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who co-directs the Fox News Poll alongside Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, offered a straightforward explanation for the trend. "ICE's tactics in Minneapolis, combined with sustained negative media coverage, have triggered a steep decline in approval — particularly among independents and voters aligned with the opposing party," Shaw noted.
Despite the overall dip, the agency still commands strong backing within certain groups. A striking 94% of self-identified MAGA supporters approve of ICE's performance, joined by 87% of very conservative voters and 83% of Republicans broadly.
Nearly Half of Voters Want ICE Funding Reduced
When the poll turned to the question of federal funding, nearly half of respondents — 46% — said they would like to see ICE's budget reduced. The remaining voters were split among those who want to increase funding (20%), maintain current levels (18%), or keep funding steady but impose new operational restrictions (16%).
Partisan divides on this issue are stark. Majorities of both Democrats (77%) and independents (59%) favor defunding the agency to some degree. Republicans, by contrast, largely support either maintaining (37%) or expanding (43%) its current budget.
Immigration Policies: Safety Gains, Economic Concerns
Voters are somewhat more likely today than they were last June to say the Trump administration's immigration policies have made the country safer. Currently, 42% believe the policies have improved national safety, compared to 37% who feel less safe — a slight shift from last summer when respondents were evenly split at 39% each.
However, when the focus shifts to the economy, public sentiment turns noticeably more critical. Nearly half of voters (49%) believe the administration's immigration approach is harming the economy, while only a third (33%) think it is helping. Another 17% say the policies have had no measurable economic impact.
Party Lines Define Economic and Safety Views
As expected, perspectives fall sharply along partisan lines:
- Republicans overwhelmingly say immigration policies have made the country safer (82%) and helped the economy (66%)
- Democrats largely hold the opposite view, with 62% saying the country is less safe and 83% saying the economy has been hurt
- Independents are most concerned about economic damage (57% say hurt), though more divided on safety — 27% say safer, 40% say less safe, and 33% see no difference
Complex Views on What to Do With Undocumented Immigrants
Despite the charged political atmosphere, voter attitudes on handling undocumented immigrants reveal considerable nuance. Two-thirds of respondents (67%) favor allowing undocumented immigrants who are employed in the U.S. to remain and pursue legal status — a position that commands support across party lines.
At the same time, 59% of voters support deporting undocumented immigrants back to their countries of origin. Notably, among those who back deportation policies, more than half (53%) still support letting working undocumented immigrants stay and apply for legal residency — suggesting many voters hold layered, rather than absolute, views on enforcement.
Hispanic voters, in particular, show strong support for a pathway to legal status (74% in favor), with a majority opposing broad deportations (56%) and disapproving of ICE's conduct (58%).
Border Security Remains Trump's Strongest Issue
Despite mixed signals on immigration policy specifics, border security continues to be President Trump's top-performing issue in terms of job approval ratings. A majority of voters — 52% — approve of how he is handling border security, making it his only issue to post a net positive rating.
His overall immigration handling stands at 47% approval and 53% disapproval, a marginal improvement from January's 45-55% split.
Across all other major policy areas, the president's approval ratings remain underwater:
- Jobs: 43% approve / 56% disapprove
- Taxes: 40% / 59%
- Foreign Policy: 40% / 60%
- Economy: 38% / 61%
- Healthcare: 38% / 61%
- Tariffs: 36% / 63%
- Cost of Living: 32% / 67%
Poll Methodology
The Fox News survey was conducted February 28 through March 2, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R). It included interviews with 1,004 registered voters selected randomly from a national voter file. Respondents were contacted via landline (104), cellphone (642), or text-to-online survey (258). The full-sample margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. Subgroup results carry a higher margin of error. Weighting was applied across age, race, education, and geographic variables to reflect the registered voter population.
