ICE crackdown creates double-edged campaign issue for Republicans and Democrats

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is fast becoming a double-edged campaign issue in November’s hotly contested midterm congressional polls, amid mounting public unease over aggressive tactics by federal immigration officers.

After an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer

shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good

in Minneapolis on Jan 7, sparking protests, opinion polls showed most Americans disapproved of the conduct of the officers, including a Reuters/Ipsos survey that pointed to a Republican split over whether federal immigration agents should try harder to avoid hurting people.

Criticism over ICE’s use of force appears to have diminished the ability of Republican candidates to pivot away from economic pessimism among voters by stressing the party’s traditionally strong standing on crime and security.

Democrats could benefit, despite the party’s historic weakness on border security issues, if voters decide Mr Trump has moved beyond what they elected him to do, said Mr Nathan Gonzales, editor of analysis firm Inside Elections.

The polling data has raised Republican concerns that souring public views of ICE operations could cloud Mr Trump’s success at securing the US-Mexico border.

Record numbers of migrants flowed into the US under former president Joe Biden, a topic Republicans view as a key campaign asset. But with some Democratic candidates calling for ICE’s abolition, Democratic groups are concerned that voters worried about immigration and security could turn against them in November.

Republicans control both the Senate and the House of Representatives but face

voter frustration over high prices

and the economy in an election cycle that often punishes the ruling party as voters cast ballots for all 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats.

Ms Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report, said: “This is kind of a fluid situation that we’re in right now that reminds me a bit of where we were after George Floyd, where public opinion moved pretty dramatically.”

The 2020 police killing of Mr Floyd in Minneapolis spurred nationwide anger that brought about reforms in many US states, but also proved to be a political liability for both Republicans and Democrats.

People have expressed outrage over immigration enforcement tactics such as ICE agents wearing masks, zip-tying children and arresting and injuring or killing US citizens.

At the weekend in Minneapolis, a naturalised US citizen said immigration agents with guns drawn

broke down his door and dragged him into the snow

while he was wearing shorts and Croc shoes.

Mr ChongLy Thao, 56, who goes by the name Scott, said he was returned home later without explanation or apology.

The Department of Homeland Security has said ICE officers, whom it oversees, have also faced violence.

Democrats could retake House: Analysts

Analysts say Democrats are in a strong position to gain control of the House and could cut into the 53-47-seat Republican Senate majority, if not seize the Chamber outright.

Losing either Chamber would hinder Mr Trump’s ability to enact his agenda and also would enable congressional investigations into administration policies and actions.

“Is (ICE) an issue that people care enough to vote on? I don’t know,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters last week.

The Trump administration is poised to ramp up immigration enforcement in 2026 with funds Congress gave ICE to hire thousands of agents, detain more than 100,000 migrants at any given time and expand surveillance to track down possible immigration offenders.

The push is expected to include more enforcement against employers, a move that could pressure businesses in sectors known to hire workers who are in the US illegally. In the coming months, ICE’s aggressive tactics could undermine Republican support among Latino voters and influence toss-up Senate races in Democratic-leaning states such as Maine and Michigan, Ms Walter said.

Republican senator criticises ICE tactics

Senator Susan Collins of Maine, the most vulnerable of the 2026 Republican incumbents, criticised what she considered “excessive” ICE tactics, including wearing masks and targeting immigrants without criminal records, which she said have been ordered by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“It’s not the ICE officers’ fault,” Ms Collins told Reuters. “Some of the tactics that the secretary has had ICE use in cities are not where the focus should be.”

Some Senate Democrats hope to use government funding legislation to impose new curbs on ICE’s actions.

But Ms Collins, who oversees funding issues as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she instead favoured oversight hearings with Ms Noem.

In response, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: “President Trump and Secretary Noem are delivering on the American people’s mandate to deport illegal aliens.” Ms McLaughlin’s statement to Reuters cited opinion polls released months before Ms Good’s shooting that showed most Americans favouring deportation of people in the country illegally, though one New York Times survey also said most voters thought Mr Trump had gone too far on immigration enforcement.

The statement asserted that 70 per cent of those arrested by ICE have been charged with or convicted of crimes, a claim that has been disputed by independent researchers, advocacy groups and journalists.

Democrats could find themselves debating whether to reform ICE or abolish the agency altogether, a question some fear could backfire on the party.

“The task ahead is not to eliminate enforcement, but to reclaim it from those who are abusing it for political gain,” the Democratic centrist think-tank Third Way warned in a public memo. REUTERS