It's Go Time, Democrats
A new polling memo that was conducted in the field this last week, following the public outrage over the death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, has been circulating among Democratic Senators since Tuesday. This latest data shows that 58 percent of likely midterm voters want Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be contained nationwide, with 30 percent calling for an overhaul of the federal agency.
The memo, written by Adam Jentleson, who has previously served as Senator Fetterman’s chief of staff and a top aide to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, concludes that Democrats have a stronger path forward by reforming, not abolishing, the agency. This data was compiled just ahead of a major Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding vote in the Senate, and has landed in the Halls of Congress right after a growing effort by a majority of Democrats to impeach DHS Secretary Kristi Neom.
Following the decision on Tuesday by Trump’s Justice Department to forgo any investigation into the unlawful shooting of an American citizen on the streets of Minneapolis, Senate Democrats are now fueled by a majority of Midterm voters who are calling for comprehensive ICE reforms and an end to National Guard detainment sweeps all over the country, which have led to 32 deaths in 2025.
The following is an excerpt from the report, intended to assess the country’s political temperature and provide direction for moving forward with ICE reforms.
“While Democrats have concerns about ICE, a majority continue to support enforcing our immigration laws. 58% of Democrats say that at least some immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be deported. The minority position that no illegal immigrants should be deported is most popular among Democrats and young people, but even among them, that view doesn’t receive more than 30% support.
There was broad bipartisan agreement that ICE should prioritize deporting violent criminals. Detaining American citizens, arrests in sensitive locations (like churches), and separating families spur the greatest bipartisan concern. Notably, even those respondents who indicated they wanted no deportations whatsoever changed their minds when presented with specific scenarios. When we asked respondents who initially said that no illegal immigrants should be deported, whether someone convicted of a violent crime should be deported, 76% changed their minds.
This number rises to 94% among those who initially said at least some illegal immigrants should be deported. Voters believe that law enforcement should cooperate with ICE in a limited capacity. 63% say immigration status should be checked during an arrest for a crime (including 54% of Democrats). In comparison, just 19% and 20% respectively say this should happen while being admitted to a hospital or enrolling a child in school. Only 16% say law enforcement should never cooperate with ICE, a number that barely rises to 25% among Democrats.”
Another critical point in this assessment reveals that voters, who generally support ICE and the current level of immigration enforcement, believe the agency has gone too far. According to the report, the least popular practices include entering private homes without warrants, detaining Americans, and federal agents failing to identify themselves and their purpose. Recent ICE operations are extremely unpopular overall, with a -17% net approval rating, making this the perfect time for Senate Democrats to leverage their support for the DHS funding bill, which will expire Friday night.
The report’s conclusion provides the perfect narrative for voters to call their senators’ offices and demand ICE reforms. Feel free to use this paragraph as a script when you make your phone call today:
“Voters want ICE to follow the law and focus enforcement on people who pose a threat to public safety. They want to see tangible changes to ICE operations and oppose letting ICE detain US citizens, enter homes without warrants, or fail to wear identifying uniforms. There is a desire for lawful, reasonable, and effective immigration enforcement. Senate Democrats should embrace this reality and use their leverage to achieve meaningful changes that rein in ICE’s abuses and refocus the agency on its critical law enforcement mission.”
Be sure to look up the local office phone numbers for your senators in your state, then call them locally. The staffer protocols for answering constituents who call the state phones are much more comprehensive than those for the main switchboard, thereby delivering your message most effectively.
The timing of the funding deadline also makes this an excellent time for you to demand that your Senators support the resolution to impeach Kristi Noem, who has yet to face any consequences for continuing to make patently false and intentionally misleading statements to the American public that jeopardize everyone’s safety. By making these calls, you will help the Democratic Party unite in their message and it will push the dial on curtailing ICE actions as we head into the next Midterm Election. Let’s roll.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter and is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines and analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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This whole brouhaha makes one wonder how the Obama administration managed to deport so many with barely any of this upheaval, violence, or death. By all accounts, Obama did better than Trump has thus far, and so quietly. Huh.