Poll: Liberals Hold Extreme Views on ‘Abolish ICE’

A Rasmussen poll shows that 36 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of liberals want to abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, according to a Rasmussen poll.

Fifty-two percent of Democrats and 65 percent of liberals also say “the government is too aggressive … in deporting those who are in this country illegally,” according to the poll.

That response is a big problem for Democratic politicians because the anti-ICE views are a huge outlier among voters, yet are thrilling the Democrats’ base in the primary elections. In a June 26 primary in New York, for example, Democratic leader Rep. Joe Crowley was beaten by a young anti-ICE candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In contrast, the Rasmussen poll of 1,000 likely voters shows that the views of swing voters are a close match to GOP voters.

Just 20 percent of swing-voters and 18 percent of Republicans support getting rid of the ICE agency, said the June 27-28 poll. Fifty-three percent of swing-voters and 69 percent of Republicans oppose “getting rid of ICE.”

Similarly, only 22 percent of African-Americans want to get rid of ICE, while 56 percent oppose getting rid of ICE. That is also a big problem for Democrats because blacks are a huge share of their base.

But the poll also shows that blacks and swing voters are uncomfortable watching the ICE agency carry out their popular mission.

When asked: “Is the U.S. government too aggressive or not aggressive enough in deporting those who are in this country illegally?” 30 percent of swing voters said ICE is too aggressive, while 45 percent said they were not aggressive enough.

Among blacks, 42 percent said the government is too aggressive, while 48 percent said “not aggressive enough” or ‘the number of deportations is about right.”

GOP voters were largely unmoved: 15 percent said “too aggressive” and 70 percent said “not aggressive enough.” Nine percent said deportation numbers are “about right.”