Trump's Trials - Poll: Two-thirds of Americans say ICE has 'gone too far' in immigration enforcement

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

On the heels of two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minnesota at the hands of federal immigration agents, 65% of Americans said Immigration and Customs Enforcement has "gone too far," according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's Trump's terms from NPR. I'm Scott Dead. We're under invasion from within. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will. We all serve at the pleasure of the president. The golden age of America is upon us. We are in the golden age. Each episode, we bring you NPR's coverage of President Trump acting on his own terms. And that means sometimes doing things that no American president has tried before. NPR is covering it all in stories like the one you are about to hear right after.

after this. I'm Leila Faldon. And I'm Steven Skeep. 65% of Americans, 65% say immigration and customs enforcement has gone too far. That is, according to a poll released today by NPR, PBS News, and Marist. This increased concern about ICE comes on the heels of the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota at the hands of federal immigration agents. NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro takes us through the numbers very often and once again this morning. Domenico, good morning. Hey there. Two-thirds of Americans disagree with the administration. That sounds like a lot.

Yeah, I mean, that's jumped double digits from last summer, you know, on something that really used to be Trump's strongest issue here, immigration. So, you know, no surprise. We've seen changes from the Trump administration. Trump reassigned Greg Bovino, who was in charge of operations in Minnesota. The administration is now pulling 700 agents from the state as well. And there's been a different tone. I mean, here's Trump yesterday with a decidedly different tone in an interview with NBC News after being asked what he'd learned from Minneapolis. I learned that maybe we can use a little bit of soft a touch, but you still have to be tough. These are criminals. We're dealing with really hard criminals.

So he's not completely backing down there from the tough rhetoric. I mean, despite neither American who has killed Renee Mackling Good or Alex Pretty meeting Trump's description of criminals. And his vice president, J.D. Vance, yesterday, refused to apologize to Preddy's family for amplifying claims, countered by video that Preddy was a, quote, would-be assassin. But Trump's tone is a definite adjustment, and it's pretty rare to hear him reflect and even give an iota of admitting a mistake. Even if he effectively took it back in the next phrase, yeah. How are people viewing the president's job overall? It's really low. I mean, his approval overall is just 39% with 30% of independence approving, and they're always key in those swing districts.

His approval rating has now been below 40% in the Marist poll since November on the economy, which is what got Trump reelected in the first place, six and ten disapprove. Trump's tariffs are playing a big part in that. A majority think that they're hurting the economy and far in away. People say Trump's top priority should be lowering prices. And yet what's gotten the most buzz and dominated the news and headlines over the past month, ICE, military action in Venezuela and Trump's threats to take over Greenland. Oh, I'm glad you mentioned.

that, how are people viewing the president's foreign policy threats on Greenland and everything else? Only 37% are approving of his handling of foreign policy. You know, when it comes to Venezuela and Greenland, a solid majority say the president should have to go to Congress before taking military action. Almost seven in ten opposed the idea of taking over Greenland. And that repeated threat was upsetting NATO allies and led to a decline in the stock market. Overall, when it comes to NATO, two-thirds in this poll say that the U.S. has benefited from that alliance. So, you know, with all of that, you can see maybe why Trump backed off from those Greenland threats. The president backed off, but also said that taking over Greenland was a popular idea.

Do they know something we don't? I like to say that you don't have to believe the polls, watch what politicians do. And for someone like Trump who usually caters to his base and rarely dials things back, these shifts are pretty significant. And it shows the reality that aside from Republicans who've steadfastly stood by Trump, these policies and actions over the past month have been wildly unpopular. And what has been revealed here is that underneath all the lies and boasts and threats to sue the pollsters, President's actions tell us that he in the White House see that he's in a real vulnerable position here.

NPR's Dominico Montanaro. Thanks so much. You're welcome. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR's. PR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow.

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