Commentary: Big Tent Ideas

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE: Americans Want Illegals Out, Say ICE Goes Too Far

U.S. Immigrations And Customs Enforcement/Creative Commons/Flickr

After repeatedly vowing to launch “the largest deportation operation in American history,” President Donald Trump won 77 million votes and reclaimed the White House in 2024. His victory suggested the American people wanted him to remove the millions of illegal immigrants let in through President Joe Biden’s open border. And he began that task immediately – something one might call democracy in action.

Now, one year into Trump’s second term, most Americans still support mass deportations – but after a series of deadly shootings involving immigration authorities and left-wing activists, many are experiencing unease related to how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is getting the job done.

Deportations And Democracy

It’s not like the American people have changed their minds on deportations since Trump took office. A January 2026 New York Times/Siena national poll shows that registered voters still support the Trump administration’s deportation efforts by a 50-47 margin.

However, the same poll showed 61% of voters believe ICE has “gone too far” during deportation operations. After two deadly shootings between federal agents and anti-ICE demonstrators, it’s easy to see why this view has spread – both shootings are still under investigation, and while many observers insist the agents acted in self-defense, others claim abuse of police powers.

That unease has translated into falling approval numbers for President Trump. A recent Napolitan News Service survey conducted before the most recent shooting shows “the president’s approval on Immigration sits at 48%, one point from his lowest rating in September.”

The Easy Way Or The Hard Way

The Trump administration has offered illegal immigrants a peaceful and easy way out: self-deportation. Illegal immigrants can avoid ICE altogether by leaving the country voluntarily. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) even offers illegal immigrants “cost-free travel, forgiveness of any failure to depart fines, and a $2,600 exit bonus to facilitate travel back to their home country or another country where they have lawful status through the CBP Home Mobile App.”

Numerous people who entered the United States illegally have left on their own, but others appear unwilling, despite knowing how their stay will likely end. As the DHS warns: “If you don’t self deport, it’s not a matter of if ICE finds you. It’s a matter of when.”

Unfortunately, millions of illegal immigrants have chosen to wait for ICE. Most deportation arrests haven’t made headlines, but in Minnesota, a network of left-wing activists has made it their mission to interfere with immigration enforcement and has dominated the news cycle as a result. They blow whistles to disorient agents, throw objects at federal vehicles, and physically insert themselves into active arrests, causing chaos and confusion. Then those same activists play the victim when things escalate.

Has ICE truly “gone too far,” or are left-wing activists deliberately creating dangerous situations and then blaming law enforcement when things go awry?

America The Betrayed

The number of illegal immigrants in the United States soared to 14 million in 2023, reaching an all-time high after years of record growth, according to the most recent available data examined by the Pew Research Center. That’s more than the population of Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Rhode Island, Montana, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, and West Virginia combined.

Scott Rasmussen, president of RMG Research and founder of the Napolitan Institute, explained that roughly 80% of American voters have agreed for decades that “illegal immigration is bad for America.” Unfortunately, he noted, political elites in Washington “simply ignored what voters were saying.”

“When voters talked about immigration reform, what they were looking for was border security, stopping the flow of people entering our country illegally,” Rasmussen said. “In Washington, whenever the topic came up, the discussion was, ‘How do we legalize the people who are already here?’ This out-of-sync dynamic has been going on for a long time, and because it has been ignored for so long, it took someone like Donald Trump to shake things up.”

Mass deportations were never going to be easy. Millions of illegal immigrants were given the chance to leave peacefully, but they chose to ignore the warnings. So now they will be forced out, and force is almost always ugly.

Elizabeth “Liz” Lawrence is an author and Assistant Editor at Liberty Nation. Liz has over a decade of experience in media and journalism, including work with American Military News, PBS, and NBC Montana. Liz also wrote “Homesteading Kids,” a children’s book inspiring self-sufficient living and practical skills. Connect with Liz on X @lizlawrence2111

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

(Featured Image Media Credit: U.S. Immigrations And Customs Enforcement/Creative Commons/Flickr)