The Democrats have spent years blasting immigration enforcement. From Trump’s border wall to his ongoing mass deportation efforts, they have been dialing up their rhetoric way past 11 in their attempt to turn public opinion against Trump’s policies. They’ve compared ICE agents to the Gestapo, and many have even floated the idea of defunding the agency altogether.
It’s not working.
A new Cygnal poll released this week shows that Americans are nowhere near the open-borders fantasy Democrats keep pushing. In fact, they want law and order, and they support ICE by a very healthy margin.
It’s terrible news for the Democrats this year.
Six in ten voters want illegal immigrants deported — 61% in favor, compared to just 34% who oppose. A whopping 73% say crossing the border illegally is “breaking the law,” which, obviously, it is.
NEW POLL:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 2, 2026
🗳️ 73% say coming here illegally is breaking the law.
🗳️ 61% support deporting illegals.
🗳️ 58% oppose defunding ICE.
🗳️ 54% support ICE enforcing our immigration laws. pic.twitter.com/E7r1JTUHmw
I bet we can guess who the other 27% voted for.
Seriously, though, that number is a reminder that despite the noise and media spin, most Americans still have a grasp on reality.
Even more telling, 58% oppose defunding ICE. That includes a majority of independents and swing voters. You know who those people are? The people who decide elections.
Defunding ICE might play well with the far left base of the Democratic Party, but it doesn’t resonate with mainstream Americans. Cygnal’s analysis calls it “politically toxic,” and that might even be generous. According to their data, when voters hear Democrats want to defund or cripple ICE, the political backlash is instant. The firm notes that the “generic ballot flips from D+4 to R+0” if Democrats oppose ICE.
Translation: their soft‑on‑border rhetoric wipes out their advantage completely.
“The data leaves no wiggle room. Americans want the law enforced, they want illegal immigrants removed, and they punish politicians who try to block ICE from doing its job,” Brent Buchanan, Cygnal’s CEO, explained.
Related: Did Sen. Kennedy Call for a Shake-Up at DHS?
That’s as clear as it gets. This isn’t some niche fringe issue. It’s the mainstream view. And yet Democrats are standing shoulder‑to‑shoulder with a base that doesn’t believe immigration laws should be enforced at all.
The political implications are enormous. Republicans, who previously hammered Democrats for pushing to defund the police in past cycles, now have a new opening. “Defund ICE” could be the next albatross around the Democratic Party’s neck. The more the left doubles down on defending chaos and undermining enforcement, the easier it becomes for the GOP to draw a clear contrast: Democrats want open borders, Republicans want to enforce the law. It’s the same law‑and‑order message that resonates every time, because it’s what most Americans believe.
This is the key to the Republicans winning the 2026 midterms. Sure, the economy is a huge factor, but rhetoric won’t change voters’ perceptions of it. Joe Biden couldn’t convince the public that prices were going down when they were really going up. But tying your opponents to unpopular policies is something you can do, and the GOP needs to make this the centerpiece of its 2026 messaging.
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