Americans largely at odds with Trump administration on immigration, ICE tactics: Polls
A newly obtained cellphone video shows the moments before Renee Good was fatally shot in her car in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026. (Obtained by ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — In the days after federal officers shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, there has been little polling on how Americans are reacting to the issue. But surveys fielded after Minneapolis woman Renee Good was shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Jan. 7 found most Americans saying the event was an inappropriate use of force and most voters saying her killing was unjustified.
Polling through the first half of January has found Americans largely at odds with the Trump administration on immigration, with just over half saying ICE enforcement actions were making cities less safe and nearly half saying they do not trust the government at all to carry out a fair and thorough investigation of Good’s shooting.
That is in addition to majorities disapproving of how ICE is enforcing immigration laws, how President Donald Trump is handling immigration and how Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has handled her job.
More polling underscores those findings.
A New York Times/Siena poll released Friday found 61% of voters saying the tactics used by ICE had “gone too far.” That included over 9 in 10 Democrats, about 7 in 10 independents and roughly 2 in 10 Republicans. Just 26% of voters overall said ICE’s tactics were “about right” and 11% said they had not gone far enough.
The poll also found roughly half of voters in support of Trump’s deportations and his handling of the border with Mexico.
Just 36% of voters approved of how ICE was handling its job; 63% disapproved.
A Wall Street Journal poll published last week found 54% saying deploying ICE to U.S. cities has “gone too far” and 52% of voters disapproving of how Trump is handling immigration.
Both polls were conducted after Good, a mother of three, was killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, but before Pretti, an ICU nurse, was killed by federal agents over the weekend.
The New York Times/Siena poll was conducted Jan. 12-17 among 1,625 registered voters nationwide and has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points.
The Wall Street Journal poll was conducted Jan. 8-13 among 1,500 registered voters nationwide and has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 10, 2026. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday was grilled on Capitol Hill about his past association with Jeffrey Epstein, following revelations that the two men remained in contact years after Lutnick suggested he had distanced himself from the convicted sex offender.
Lutnick strongly denied any wrongdoing, but one Democrat said he had “totally misrepresented” the extent of their relationship “to the Congress, to the American people and to the survivors of his despicable criminal and predatory acts.”
Appearing before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Lutnick was asked repeatedly about his correspondence with Epstein detailed in files recently released by the Justice Department, and President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary revealed he visited Epstein’s Caribbean island in 2012 with his family and others.
“I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation. My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies,” Lutnick testified under questioning by Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.
Lutnick told Van Hollen that another couple and their children were with them during the visit.
“We had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour, and we left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife all together,” he said.
When asked if he saw anything inappropriate during his visit, Lutnick responded, “The only thing I saw with my wife and my children and the other couple and their children was staff who worked for Mr. Epstein on that island.”
Lutnick, who lived next door to Epstein for over a decade, previously suggested he had distanced himself from Epstein back in the mid-2000s prior to Epstein’s conviction in 2008.
“So, I was never in the room with him socially, for business or even philanthropy. If that guy was there, I wasn’t going because he’s gross,” Lutnick said on the “Pod Force One” podcast back in October.
“That’s my story. A one and absolutely done,” Lutnick said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Commerce told ABC News on Monday, “Mr. and Mrs. Lutnick met Jeffrey Epstein in 2005 and had very limited interactions with him over the next 14 years.”
However, the documents released over a week ago showed one email from Epstein’s schedule for May 1, 2011, showing plans for drinks with Lutnick.
Legal documents also showed both Lutnick and Epstein invested in the same business in 2012.
Lutnick testified that he did not have lunch with Epstein in 2011. He also testified that he had no idea about an email from the documents that said Epstein had expressed interest in meeting his nanny.
“I had no idea what that was about. Had nothing to do with me,” he testified.
Van Hollen questioned why Lutnick would make the visit even though Epstein had already been convicted.
“You made a very big point of saying that you sensed that this was a bad person in 2005 and then, of course, in 2008, he was convicted of soliciting prostitution of a minor and yet, you went and had this trip and other interactions,” the senator said.
Lutnick told the committee that he had “nothing to hide, absolutely nothing,” and would speak to the committee about sharing his own records as they relate to Jeffrey Epstein.
“I have done absolutely nothing wrong,” he testified.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons also criticized Lutnick.
“It troubles me that you took your family to lunch on his island, that you had appointments with him. Please disclose everything. Put this to rest, because this is an issue of grave concern to my constituents,” Coons told Lutnick. “President Trump ran on releasing the Epstein files.”
Lutnick again maintained he had limited interactions with Epstein.
“I did not have anything you could call a relationship, anything you could call an acquaintance,” he told Coons
The White House has defended Lutnick, following the release of the new Epstein files.
“The entire Trump administration, including Secretary Lutnick and the Department of Commerce, remains focused on delivering for the American people,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement Monday.
Several Democratic lawmakers, however, have called on Lutnick to resign because of his appearance in the files.
“It’s now clear that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been lying about his relationship with Epstein. He said he had no interactions with Epstein after 2005, yet we now know they were in business together. Lutnick must resign or be fired,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in an X post Sunday.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie also called for Lutnick to resign.
“So, he’s got a lot to answer for. But really, he should make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign,” Massie told CNN Sunday.
Lutnick did not respond to questions from ABC News prior to the hearing about those calls for him to step down.
House Speaker Mike Johnson voiced confidence in Lutnick, telling reporters Tuesday that bipartisan calls for his resignation are “absurd.”
“Howard Lutnick is a great commerce secretary who’s done an extraordinary job for the country, and Thomas Massie should stop playing political games,” he said.
Reporters pressed the speaker on whether he harbors any concerns about Lutnick given his ties to Epstein.
“I don’t know anything about that. I know Howard as an individual, and I trust his word on it,” Johnson said.
Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera speaks during a campaign rally at the Constantino S Pizza restaurant on February 26, 2026, in Somerset, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
(TEXAS) — The Texas 23rd Congressional District race is projected to head to a runoff, as incumbent Rep. Tony Gonzales, who was accused of having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, and conservative activist Brandon Herrera both failed to receive more than 50% of the vote.
With 94% of the expected vote reporting Wednesday morning, Herrera holds just about a 1-point advantage over Gonzales (roughly 43% to 42%).
Gonzales and Herrera previously went head-to-head in the 2024 Republican primary and similarly advanced to a runoff. Gonzales ultimately won by just 400 votes.
Tuesday’s primary election came as Gonzales battles calls from some House Republicans to resign amid allegations that he engaged in an extramarital affair with a congressional aide who died by suicide last fall. Gonzales has denied the allegations of the affair with the aide, Regina Santos-Aviles.
Asked recently if he had an extramarital affair with Santos-Aviles, Gonzales said “what you have seen is not all the facts.”
Text messages, provided to ABC News by Santos-Aviles’ widower, appear to show Gonzales pursuing a relationship with the former staffer. ABC News has reached out to Gonzales for a request for comment on the text messages.
In February, Gonzales told ABC News that “Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place.”
ABC News has also confirmed that Gonzales has been under investigation by the Office of Congressional Conduct, which has already completed its probe. Due to its rules, the OCC can’t transmit a report against a member of Congress 60 days prior to an election.
The runoff election is scheduled for May 26, which is more than 60 days away from the primary election.
On Wednesday, the House Ethics Committee announced that it started an investigative subcommittee to look into the allegations against Gonzales.
Gonzales has notably lost many endorsements in his bid for reelection as calls for his resignation continue. He said last month that he is “not going to resign.”
President Donald Trump had endorsed Gonzales prior to the allegations. Since then, the White House has not responded to ABC News’ questions about whether the president still supports Gonzales.
In a post on X reacting to the news of a runoff, Gonzales began by thanking the president and looking forward to a “victorious May.”
In a reply to Gonzales post, Herrera retorted: “Are you seriously congratulating yourself for not winning your primary?”
Herrera, a Second Amendment activist and social media personality, has also faced his share of controversy, including accusations that his YouTube videos allegedly featured Nazi-related imagery. In response, Herrera wrote in a social media post that “I am not, nor have I never been a neo-Nazi.”
Both candidates have sought to align themselves closely with the president.
ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sign stands at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Senate Democrats on Thursday voted unanimously to block a package of six funding bills that would fund large portions of the government through the end of September — meaning a partial government shutdown could still happen in the coming days.
The bill failed to advance by a vote of 45-55. It would have needed at least 60 votes to proceed. Multiple Republicans also cast votes against the package.
The vote came amid news that talks are ongoing between Democrats and the White House over funding for the Department of Homeland Security ahead of the partial government shutdown that would begin at midnight Friday.
Those talks are intensifying in the final hours between the White House and Senate Democrats to reach an agreement over how to advance a package of bills necessary to fund the government — including Democrats’ request to separate the bill that funds DHS.
Democrats want DHS removed from a package that includes five other government funding bills so that changes to the DHS bill aimed at reining in Immigration and Customs Enforcement can be made without affecting the other agencies that still need to be funded.
There were Democratic calls to separate the DHS funding following the deaths of Renee Good, a mother of three who was fatally shot by an immigration enforcement officer in Minneapolis earlier this month, and became more urgent after the death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, who was killed in a shooting involving federal agents over the weekend.
If a deal is locked, Democrats would eventually need to vote yes on advancing this six-bill package. It is the first procedural step in allowing them to vote to modify it.
Although Democrats blocked this bill from moving forward, that doesn’t necessarily mean negotiations have fallen apart.
Majority Leader John Thune retained the right to call up this same vote later Thursday or Friday if he thinks a deal is locked in.
Negotiations are centered around that request from Democrats, sources told ABC News. This would allow the military and critical programs like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Head Start — a federal program run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides early childhood education, health, nutrition and family support services to low-income children and families — to be funded through September.
A deal would temporarily extend funding for DHS through a short-term bill, which would give Democrats and the White House more time to discuss any possible policy changes.
Coming into the negotiations, Senate Democrats laid out a list of demands including: ending roving patrols, ensuring federal agents are held to the same use of force policies that apply to state and local law enforcement, preventing agents from wearing masks and requiring body cameras.
Republicans need the support of at least seven Democrats in the Senate to avert a partial shutdown.
The White House has not yet commented on the ongoing negotiations.
While sources indicate Democratic leadership is optimistic that things are headed in their direction, that same level of optimism has not been shared from the White House, sources told ABC News.
It is likely that even if a deal is reached, there will still be a short partial shutdown. Any changes to the government funding bill passed in the Senate would have to go back to the House, which is currently in recess until Monday.
