What the Polls Show

Susan Estrich
Fri, 30 Jan 2026 23:00:00 -0800
Opinion

It was the Fox News poll of voters that a reporter asked the president about, the one that showed 59% saying that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had gone too far. Hard to dismiss as fake news, but the president wasn't biting. He ignored the question, just sat resolutely at his resolute desk and stared ahead.

But he's not ignoring reality, at least not completely. He's changed horses. Whether he and his storm troopers are willing to make more significant changes is what remains to be seen both on the streets of Minneapolis and in the halls of Capitol Hill.

But what concerns me almost as much is the other 41% — the 24% who think ICE is doing deportations just about right and the 17% who'd like to see ICE be more aggressive. If you look at just Republicans, a majority — 52% - think ICE is either doing just fine or should be more aggressive.
Updated: Sat Jan 31, 2026

It was the Fox News poll of voters that a reporter asked the president about, the one that showed 59% saying that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had gone too far. Hard to dismiss as fake news, but the president wasn't biting. He ignored the question, just sat resolutely at his resolute desk and stared ahead.

But he's not ignoring reality, at least not completely. He's changed horses. Whether he and his storm troopers are willing to make more significant changes is what remains to be seen both on the streets of Minneapolis and in the halls of Capitol Hill.

But what concerns me almost as much is the other 41% — the 24% who think ICE is doing deportations just about right and the 17% who'd like to see ICE be more aggressive. If you look at just Republicans, a majority — 52% - think ICE is either doing just fine or should be more aggressive.

Who are these people?

What do they want ICE to do?

Round up more people? Barge into homes? Separate families? Arrest more people who have never committed any crime?

We should all shudder to think what Mr. Bovino had in mind for his next act when the troops came marching in.

Is that what the base of the Republican party really wants?

Does President Donald J. Trump have it in him to confront them and tell them why that is wrong?

And if not now, when?

The deaths of two "innocent" white citizens made the continued attempt to occupy Minneapolis untenable. Maybe it was inevitable that something like that would happen. Twice. Maybe not. Had those agents not misfired, would the Trump administration ever have changed its tactics? Would the 41% supporting ICE be a majority right now?

What is at stake on the streets of Minneapolis, and in other neighborhoods that Bovino and his storm troopers have occupied, is not only the freedom of Hispanic Americans but the rule of law, plain and simple. These troopers, anointed by JD Vance and his boss with a level of absolute immunity that the courts do not recognize, feel empowered to ignore the usual constraints on the use of force and the scope of detention. And they have been getting away with it — detaining people without probable cause, throwing tear gas at peaceful protestors. And, as the federal district court in Minnesota pointed out, repeatedly ignoring court orders.

This is another insurrection Donald Trump has incited, and now it should be up to him to end it.

But remember: his base doesn't want him to. His Justice Department flouts the rule of law. He flip-flops all over the place, of course, as we saw on Greenland and on tariffs, but he's been riding the anti-immigrant bandwagon for a long time, and his party is riddled with racism and haters of its own, who he has not chosen to take on, so will he start now? Or will he just continue on his "affordability" tour, telling us what we know isn't true?

Stay tuned. Tom Homan is a better "face" on things than Kristi and Corey, but the question is far beyond who the face of this is. It is Donald Trump, like it or not. This is all being done at his instance. He can take it down, or not. He can change procedures. Or Congress can force it. Or eventually, hopefully, the courts will. The 41% aren't just wrong, politically speaking. They want ICE to be above the law, as they've been acting, and they aren't. That dog don't hunt, and the sooner Donald Trump stops listening to the 41% and ignoring the rule of law, the better.