ICE tactics under scrutiny ahead of US midterms as poll finds 53% say crackdown went too far
A Fox News poll found 53 percent of registered voters say Trump's immigration crackdown has gone too far, as ICE arrests reach record levels before the November 3 midterms.
At a glance
- A Fox News poll found 53% of registered voters say Trump's immigration crackdown has gone too far.
- ICE recorded two consecutive months with more than 50,000 immigration arrests, beating a June record of 43,900.
- Republicans are defending their majorities in Congress in the November 3 midterm elections.
President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement has fractured US public support ahead of midterm elections on November 3, with a Fox News poll finding that 53 percent of registered voters believe the crackdown has "gone too far".
The survey, conducted in September, recorded higher levels of concern in groups seen as important to Republican chances: 60 percent of independent voters said the immigration effort had overreached, and two-thirds of Hispanic respondents agreed.
Record arrests and disputed figures
Immigration arrests have risen under Trump. In September, ICE said it had recorded two consecutive months with more than 50,000 immigration arrests, exceeding a June record of 43,900 detentions.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, has said Trump's policies "unleashed ICE to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens, including pedophiles, murderers, gang members, terrorists, and rapists". Homeland Security argues about 70 percent of detainees are criminals when pending charges are counted, a figure critics dispute because US law presumes suspects innocent until proven guilty. The Deportation Data Project, which analyses government datasets, found about 70 percent of people in ICE detention have no criminal record.
White House "border czar" Tom Homan said in July: "We need more. We need more arrests, and we need more deportations."
A family in Houston
Cynthia Penaloza is among those questioning the administration's tactics. Her sister, 23-year-old Joceline Penaloza Magana, was arrested by ICE during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas, in August and remains in custody. The family says Joceline, who was brought to the US at about five years old, was an honour roll student with no criminal record.
"We're always afraid. We're uncertain of what's going to happen, if she's going to be sent back to Mexico, if we're ever going to be together again or how this is going to change our lives forever," Cynthia told Al Jazeera.
Political fallout
Republicans are defending their majorities in both chambers of Congress, as well as in key state and local elections. Trump won nearly 48 percent support among Latino voters in 2024, up 12 percentage points from 2020, according to a Pew Research Center exit poll. But Pew found approval among Hispanic voters who backed him fell from 93 percent at the start of 2025 to 57 percent last week.
Some Republicans have publicly criticised the policy. Florida congress member Maria Elvira Salazar said in a September advertisement: "Mr President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far." Texas Republican Jeremy Price told Al Jazeera: "A mess was created, and now cleaning it up is dirty business."
Democrats hope to turn the anger into votes. Richard Gonzales, chair of the Hidalgo County Democratic Party in Texas, told Al Jazeera: "I would hope they'd abolish ICE."
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- What do the polls say about Trump's immigration crackdown?
- A September Fox News poll found 53 percent of registered voters said the crackdown had "gone too far", including 60 percent of independents and two-thirds of Hispanic respondents.
- How many immigration arrests has ICE made?
- In September, ICE said it recorded two consecutive months with more than 50,000 immigration arrests, surpassing a June record of 43,900 detentions.
- Why is immigration enforcement an issue in the US midterms?
- Republicans are defending congressional majorities on November 3, and Pew found approval among Hispanic voters who backed Trump in 2024 fell from 93 percent to 57 percent.
