Summary
A Fox News poll (Jan. 23–26, 2026) — conducted while Alex Pretti was being shot in Minneapolis — finds 59% of voters characterize ICE as “too aggressive,” a 10-point jump since July 2025. Trump’s best issue remains border security (52% approval), but his immigration handling is underwater (45% approve/55% disapprove). Support for abolishing ICE has doubled since 2018.
Key Points
- 59% say ICE is too aggressive, up 10 points since July 2025
- The shift is driven by the center: +14 among whites without college degree, +19 among moderates, +22 among independents
- Also up among right-leaning groups: Trump voters (+9), Republican women (+14), non-MAGA Republicans (+23)
- When asked to specify concerns: 44% say “using too much force,” 23% say “targeting wrong people,” 29% say both
- Support for abolishing ICE has doubled since 2018, from 18% to 36%; White voters (+20), women (+21), independents (+22), Democrats (+34)
- 49% favor requiring local cooperation with ICE, 50% oppose; independents against by 30-point margin
- Trump border security approval: 52% (down from 57% high in September); immigration approval: 45% approve/55% disapprove
- Survey conducted Jan. 23–26; Alex Pretti was killed during a Minneapolis protest on Jan. 25 while the survey was running
Newsletter Angles
- A Fox News poll — the network most favorable to Trump — showing majority opposition to ICE tactics is analytically significant. This is not a liberal pollster finding; it’s Fox’s own survey, and even Fox’s data shows the center has moved.
- The doubling of “Abolish ICE” support (18% to 36%) over eight years, with most of that movement concentrated in Trump’s second term, is a structural shift, not a protest moment.
- The non-MAGA Republican number (+23 viewing ICE as too aggressive) suggests internal GOP fracture potential — if moderates and college Republicans are breaking, the coalition math changes.
- The timing note matters: the survey ran during the killing of Alex Pretti. Post-Pretti data would likely show further movement.
Entities Mentioned
- Killing of Renée Good — the context that supercharged the polling shift
- Operation Metro Surge — the enforcement operation whose tactics are being rated
Concepts Mentioned
- Political Stress — the poll captures public anxiety about ICE tactics translating into political opinion
- Sanctuary Infrastructure — the 50/50 split on local cooperation with ICE reflects the contested terrain of sanctuary politics
Notes
Fox News poll conducted by Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R); n=1,005 registered voters; ±3 pp MOE. The bipartisan polling firm structure adds credibility. The timing — during a second Minneapolis shooting — means this poll may undercount the post-Pretti backlash.