Americans’ Views of ICE Grow More Negative

Masked federal agents wearing a Police ICE jacket, stand in a hallway at the New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York on March 17, 2026. US President Donald Trump has made deporting undocumented immigrants a key priority for his second term, after successfully campaigning against an alleged “invasion” by criminals. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images) A majority of Americans (56%) now say they have an unfavorable opinion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency at the center of many of the Trump administration’s increased deportation efforts. A considerably smaller share – 35% – view the agency favorably, while 9% say they are not sure. ICE is the least favorably viewed of the 12 federal agencies and departments asked about in a Pew Research Center survey of 5,062 adults conducted from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4. Republicans’ ratings of ICE are far more positive than those of Democrats. But in both partisan groups, views of the agency have grown more negative over the last year: Two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents currently view ICE favorably, down from 72% a year ago. An overwhelming majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners now have an unfavorable opinion of ICE (84%), up from 78% last year. Growing shares in both parties view ICE unfavorably, even as a wide partisan gap persists % who have a(n) __ opinion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Growing shares in both parties view ICE unfavorably, even as a wide partisan gap persists % who have a(n) __ opinion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement YearAgencyGroupFavorableUnfavorableNot sure2025ICETotal4049102026ICETotal355692025ICERep/Lean Rep722172026ICERep/Lean Rep672392025ICEDem/Lean Dem137892026ICEDem/Lean Dem9847 Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER For views of other federal agencies included in the survey, visit “How Americans View Federal Agencies.” About this research We conducted this survey to understand Americans’ attitudes about key federal government agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. We have tracked attitudes about federal agencies and departments for many years. For views of other agencies, refer to this fact sheet. Why did we do this? How did we do this? We surveyed 5,062 U.S. adults from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, 2026. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population. Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology. Views of ICE by race and ethnicity Majorities of Black (69%), Hispanic (67%) and Asian adults (66%) have a negative opinion of ICE. In each group, views are substantially more negative than they were a year ago. White adults are less likely than other racial and ethnic groups to view the agency negatively, though more now express a negative opinion than a positive one. Nearly half of White adults (49%) have an unfavorable view of ICE, up from 45% in 2025. About four-in-ten (42%) have a positive opinion, down from 48% a year ago. Americans across racial and ethnic groups view ICE more negatively today than a year ago % who have a(n) ___ opinion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Americans across racial and ethnic groups view ICE more negatively today than a year ago % who have a(n) ___ opinion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement YearGroupFavorableUnfavorableNot sure2025White484572026White424982025Hispanic2954162026Hispanic256772025Black2651222026Black1569162025Asian3257102026Asian246610 Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Views of ICE by party, race and ethnicity Among Republicans White Republicans (71%) are much more likely than Hispanic Republicans to view ICE favorably (53%). White Republicans are more likely than Hispanic Republicans to view ICE favorably % who have a(n) ___ opinion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement * Relatively small sample size for Hispanic Republicans (N=201, margin of error +/- 10.1 percentage points at 95% confidence).** Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.Note: Insufficient sample size to show data for Black and Asian Republicans. No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER White Republicans are more likely than Hispanic Republicans to view ICE favorably % who have a(n) ___ opinion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Race/EthnicityGroupFavorableUnfavorableNot sureWhiteRep/Lean Rep71208Hispanic*Rep/Lean Rep53398WhiteDem/Lean Dem6895HispanicDem/Lean Dem14797BlackDem/Lean Dem127512Asian**Dem/Lean Dem11827 * Relatively small sample size for Hispanic Republicans (N=201, margin of error +/- 10.1 percentage points at 95% confidence).** Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.Note: Insufficient sample size to show data for Black and Asian Republicans. No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Among Democrats Across racial and ethnic groups, large majorities of Democrats view ICE unfavorably. However, White Democrats’ views are particularly negative. Roughly nine-in-ten White Democrats (89%) express a negative opinion, compared with smaller majorities of Asian (82%), Hispanic (79%) and Black Democrats (75%). Note: Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology. Andy Cerda is a research analyst focusing on politics at Pew Research Center.