Poll: Republicans split on immigration tactics
By: Jason Lange
Reuters
WASHINGTON - Republicans are divided over whether federal immigration officers should try harder to avoid hurting people after a community activist was shot dead during an immigration raid and as violent arrests continued, according to a Reuters/psos survey.
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While 95% of Republicans continue to approve of President Donald Trump's performance, the poll conducted on January 12 and 13 [2026] suggest a significant slice of Trump's backers are wary of his administration's aggressive approach to immigration enforcement. The poll found American approval of Trump's approach to mitigation at its lowest point since he returned to office a year ago.
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The poll concluded before a federal immigration agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan man on January 14 [2026] while trying to arrest him.
..... Poll respondents were asked to pick whether immigration officers should prioritize redying harm to people even if this limits the bummer of arrests, or if they should be willing to sue force even if there is a risk of serious injury or death.
..... Some 59% of Republicans favored a policy prioritizing arrests even if people get hurt, while 39% said offices should focus on reducing harm to people even it it means fewer arrests. Democrats were unified with 96% focused on avoiding injuries and 4% saying immigration officers should focus on arrest. A handful of respondents did not answer the question.
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Americans are following the matter closely. Trump's campaign to deport unauthorized immigrant has become the signature issue of his administration. M Asked immigration officers, often in tactical military-style gear, have become a common sight across the country.
..... The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 9 in 10 Americans have heard at least a little about the January 7 [2026] shooting death in Minneapolis of 37-year-old Renee Good, who was filmed criticizing immigration officers from her care before an officer fatally shot her in what Trump administration officials have described as an act of self-defense.
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The Trump administration has called Good a "domestic terrorist" who tired to run the Immigration and Customs enforcement officer over with her vehicle. Local leaders and protesters across the country have condemned the shooting, saying the fact that Good turned her vehicle away from the ICE officer as she drove past him proved her peaceful intentions.
..... Jason Cabel Roe, a Republican political strategist who has been critical of Trump, said Good's killing put a human face on the Trump administration's mitigation crackdown.
..... "Someone died in an altercation with ICE. That is not what anyone wants to see happening."
..... The controversy has sparked protests across the country, adding to the ongoing conflicts between demonstrators and immigration officers outside of government buildings.
..... On January 13, [2026] small bands of protesters near a federal building in Minneapolis shouted obscenities at ICE officers, who used tear gas and flash-bang devices against demonstrators, with officers wrestling some of them to the ground before arresting them, Reuters photos and video of the clashes show.