Most Americans Believe ICE Has 'Gone Too Far' Enforcing Trump's Immigration Crackdown, Poll Shows

More than half of Americans believe Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has "gone too far" when implementing President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, according to a new survey.

Concretely, the Marist poll showed that 54% of respondents agreed with the mentioned premise, while 26% said actions have been "about right" and 18% claimed ICE has "not gone far enough." The poll surveyed 1,381 U.S. adults between June 23 and 25.

The partisan divide was present in responses. Over 4 in 5 Democrats (83%) said the agency has gone too far, a view shared by 59% of independents. However, almost half of all Republicans (49%) believe ICE's actions have been mostly acceptable.

Figures varied when respondents were asked about whether immigrants with and without criminal records should be deported. Over 9 in 10 Republicans (91%) said they should be deported, while 75% of Democrats agreed. 59% of all respondents said they favor deporting migrants found guilty of a nonviolent crimes. However, the figure is comprised by 86% of Republicans and 36% of Democrats.

As for deporting immigrants working in industries like agriculture or food service, over half (55%) opposed doing so. The figure was comprised by 77% of Democrats and 26% of Republicans.

Trump, however, has acknowledged the risks associated with mass deportations in these industries, whose workers are mostly migrants. He said this week that his administration is developing a "temporary pass" system that would allow undocumented workers in the agricultural and hospitality industries to continue working legally under employer oversight, marking a potential shift in immigration enforcement policy.

"We're working on it right now," Trump said in a Fox News interview. "We're going to work it so that some kind of a temporary pass [is created] where people pay taxes, where the farmer can have a little control, as opposed to you walk in and take everybody away."

Trump framed the proposal as a response to concerns from farmers and hospitality businesses who say immigration enforcement has removed experienced laborers and harming the industry. "When we go into a farm and we take away people that have been working there for 15 and 20 years, who were good, who possibly came in incorrectly... you end up destroying a farmer," Trump said. "It's a problem." According to DHS data, about 42% of U.S. farm workers between 2020 and 2022 lacked legal status.