According to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, few voting Americans support the idea of abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). But a solid majority want to keep the Department of Homeland Security, which some liberal Democrats have likened to a terrorist organization.
While 54 percent of voters support the continuation of ICE, only 25 percent of respondents believe it is time to dismantle it, while 21 percent are undecided.
Support for abolishing ICE is strongest among Democrats, 43 percent of whom want the agency gone, with 34 percent favoring the status quo.
Among Republicans, ICE receives overwhelming support, with 76 percent voter approval. Independents reflected the national average, with 54 percent of respondents in support of the agency. Those numbers would indicate the issue is not a midterm election winner for Democrats.
While several prominent Democrats have suggested ICE is a danger to civil rights, only socialist candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has actually campaigned on an anti-ICE platform. She beat Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in a recent New York primary, saying ICE “routinely violates our civil rights, because, frankly, it was designed with that structure in mind.”
The poll was conducted from July 6–10 and received responses from 1,999 registered voters. It is considered accurate by plus or minus two percent.