Polls

The Guardian -  Half of Americans support the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, a new poll has found, as opposition to Donald Trump’s aggressive federal immigration crackdown continues to grow.

The analysis by YouGov revealed that exactly 50% of respondents “strongly or somewhat” want to see the agency dismantled, a 5% rise from a January poll taken between the deaths in Minnesota of US citizen protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration officers.

Only 39% said they opposed abolishing ICE, a significant drop from January when those for and against were evenly split at 45%. The latest poll is the first time that the number of Americans calling for scrapping the agency, a frequent demand of left-wing Democrats, has reached 50%, YouGov said.It mirrors an NBC poll last month that showed 49% disapproval of Trump’s handling of border security and immigration, traditionally a vote winner from his Republican base.

Gallup  -   Government and political leadership remained Americans’ top concern in February, when asked to identify the “most important problem facing this country today.” Immigration emerged as the clear second choice, followed by the economy and inflation.

These findings are from a Feb. 2-16 Gallup poll, conducted before the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

Overall, 29% of U.S. adults in February cited some aspect of government or politics as the country’s most important problem. This is similar to the 32% recorded in January and 26% in December. Immigration was mentioned by 20% — up sharply from 10% in January, but similar to the 19% citing it in December.

Economic concerns followed, with 11% mentioning the economy in general and 8% citing inflation or high prices. Mentions of the economy had risen to 17% in December, from 12% in November, possibly reflecting concern after the government shutdown that ended Nov. 12 and heightened political discussion of affordability.