How News Sources Portray ICE Policy
This chart shows how major news sources across the ideological spectrum frame ice policy, from left to right-leaning perspectives.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been the center of many contemporary and contentious political debates in America. The principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been thrust into the national spotlight largely due to recent immigration policy changes during Donald Trump’s 2025 presidency, which sparked disagreements across the country. Americans possess a diverse range of opinions concerning ICE, from those who support and those who oppose the institution to the majority that lies somewhere in the middle.
As expressed by various news sources and public polls, the issue is admittedly intricate and characterized by nuanced opinions that support one policy aspect but may reject another. According to Pew Research Center polls, the Republican Party makes up the largest proportion of those who support ICE, while Democrats have taken a more critical stance toward the institution. Although the same Pew Research poll found that most Americans view ICE unfavorably, this poll was taken seven years ago and does not mention deportations or, obviously, any of the recent immigration policy developments.
Recent polls show that while most Americans support the 2025 deportations of undocumented immigrants with criminal records, many also believe that the government’s new immigration and deportation policies have been inhumane.
Democratic Stance on ICE
The Democratic Party represents the Americans most displeased with ICE and its enforcement of deportations under the 2025 Trump administration. However, about 20% of Democrats favor deporting those who entered the U.S. illegally, highlighting the complexity of this issue. In total, around 78% of Democrats view ICE unfavorably.
Across political parties, about 53% of voters think that recent deportations have been unfair, which resonates with the views of the Democratic Party. While many in America agree with deporting illegal immigrants, others also agree that exceptions should sometimes be made for law-abiding immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for an extended period.
These sentiments express the American public’s discontent with the targeting and implementation strategies that ICE has adopted. The Democratic Party is more likely to criticize the use of masked photographs of ICE officers during raids, or, as Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker did, ICE’s unlawful arrests of American citizens.
The Democratic Party largely views immigration in a positive light, which explains why a large portion of Democrats are worried about the deportation of undocumented immigrants. This viewpoint is a vital component of the Democratic belief in expanding immigration and creating pathways for migrants to become citizens, as reflected by policies enacted under Joe Biden’s administration and subsequent rises in undocumented immigration.
Politicians Who Oppose ICE
Around 78% of Democrats view ICE unfavorably.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
“We need to abolish ICE. What does it cost our humanity to look the other way when women, children, and young men of promise are ripped off the street and disappeared? What does it cost us as a society to normalize looking the other way to such barbarism? ... We have to have respect for children, respect for families, respect for human rights, and respect for the right of human mobility.”
Kirsten E. Gillibrand
“I believe that [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has become a deportation force… and that's why I believe you should get rid of it, start over, reimagine it and build something that actually works. ... Every country needs reasonable law enforcement on their borders. ICE is not reasonable law enforcement. ICE is broken, it's divisive, and it should be abolished.”
Republican Stance on ICE
The Republican stance on ICE, in contrast to that of the Democrats, tends to favor ICE and its current enforcement of mass deportations. According to a different Pew Research study, about 54% of Republicans believe that all undocumented immigrants should be deported, while only about 10% of Democrats share that view.
The Republican Party is more likely to view undocumented immigration unfavorably, partly because it is concerned about the effects in American society, the economy, and national security. These overall beliefs about immigration have strongly influenced the current Republican support for ICE during the 2025 mass deportations.
The small number of Republicans who share Democrats’ criticisms of ICE contrasts sharply with the large group of Republicans who view immigration as potentially harmful. In 2025, around 67% of Republicans view immigration positively, compared to about 39% the previous year.
These beliefs demonstrate why 72% of Republicans view ICE favorably, considering it a necessary arm of immigration enforcement. Based on fundamental views surrounding immigration and its impact on the job market and the American economy, the Republican Party holds protectionist beliefs toward immigration that support agencies such as ICE.
Politicians Who Support ICE
72% of Republicans view ICE favorably, considering it a necessary arm of immigration enforcement.
History of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The history of ICE officially began in 2002, with the enactment of the Homeland Security Act in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However, legislation regulating immigration and international trade began with the Tariff Act of 1789, passed in response to a struggling American industry.
The 2002 Homeland Security Act significantly reorganized the government, rivaled only by the reorganization during the creation of the Department of Defense in the 1940s. The following year, both the Department of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement were established.
With the creation of the new federal law enforcement agency, ICE was tasked with protecting national security and was thus given both criminal and civil authority. Two years after its founding, ICE created the Border Enforcement Security Task Force to combat gangs such as MS-13 and online child sexual abuse.
By 2011, ICE had grown substantially as an agency and launched the Criminal Alien Removal Initiative, which created the 129th operation team to enforce the arrest of undocumented immigrants. These operations resulted in over 37,000 arrests, the highest number ICE had made in a single year.
ICE Policy Going Forward
Considering polls that have outlined political stances on ICE and immigration, certain strong majorities within the American public are unlikely to change. One of these majorities consists of Americans who support the deportation of criminal illegal aliens, and the other comprises Americans who believe the 2025 deportations have crossed a moral line.
The two majorities can be visualized as the two circles of a Venn diagram depicting the public’s overall stance on ICE and deportations, with the Republican and Democratic parties aligned on opposite sides. It is possible, considering new developments in ICE policy, that a single majority could form if current ICE policies or enforcement procedures are adapted in response to public outcry.
The American public does not support inhumane immigration enforcement and also holds strong opinions about where these deportation raids should occur. Should the mention of controversial ICE deportations persist, the group critiquing ICE’s policies will increase accordingly, ultimately reducing the credibility of ICE as a government institution.
The binary viewpoints of the Democratic and Republican parties do not entirely encompass the diversity of opinions concerning immigration and its effect on American society. Given this reality, independent and centrist Americans, who do not line up neatly on either side of this debate, could be influenced to tip the balance in either direction as future developments unfold.
