Amidst renewed scrutiny regarding the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) after increased activity under the second Trump administration, and the controversial shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, polling shows that the majority of Americans have negative feelings towards ICE.
On January 7, 2026, the day that Good was shot dead by ICE officers, YouGov conducted a poll of nearly 2,700 Americans asking the question, "Do you approve or disapprove of how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is handling its job?" The response was overwhelmingly negative.
40% of respondents stated they "strongly disapprove" and 12% said they "somewhat disapprove" of ICE's conduct, adding up to a whopping 52% disapproval rating. About 24% "strongly approve" and 15% "somewhat approve." 10% chose "not sure." Pollsters also asked, "How would you describe the tactics currently used by ICE?" with 51% of respondents describing their tactics as "too forceful." 27% chose "about right," 10% chose "not forceful enough," and 12% were "not sure."
The data lines up with responses prior to the shooting, as a Pew Research Center survey found that 53% of respondents felt that the Trump administration was doing "too much" on deporting undocumented migrants.
Video of Good's shooting went viral on Wednesday as the debate on whether the shooting was justified continues. It shows her in a dark red Honda SUV being approached by ICE officers as she is told to get out of her vehicle. The officers walk up to her car and try to open the driver's side door before the woman tries to take off, grazing another officer, who opens fire on the driver.
Key members of the Trump administration, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have passionately reiterated that they believe the ICE officer who shot Good was acting in self-defense and have sought to paint her as a "deranged leftist" who intended to run him over. However, those close to Good tell a different story.
Every congressional democrat and every democrat who's running for president should be asked a simple question:
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 8, 2026
Do you think this officer was wrong in defending his life against a deranged leftist who tried to run him over?
These people are going to try to arrest our law…
Good's widow, Becca, released a statement to MPR News saying that "kindness radiated out of her" and that she "lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow." She also added that "On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns."
Her ex-husband has denied the narrative that she was a political activist, telling the Associated Press that she was not involved in activism or protest at the time of the encounter and that she had only dropped their young son off at school and was driving home when the shooting occurred.
