Even though most Utahns don’t want to build a wall on the Mexican border, they want to keep the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE, a new UtahPolicy.com poll finds.
ICE was heavily criticized last spring for the way it separated young children from their parent immigrants who crossed the U.S. border – many of the families fleeing violence in their home countries.
When this all exploded, a number of folks wanted ICE disbanded and some new governmental organization to take over immigration security.
But Utahns don’t agree with that stand.
Pollster Dan Jones & Associates finds:
- 61 percent of Utahns “strongly” or “somewhat” oppose getting rid of ICE.
- Only 28 percent want the agency gone.
- And 11 percent don’t have an opinion.
Men are more supportive of ICE than are women: 72-22 percent of men want to keep ICE, while women favor keeping the agency, 50-34 percent.
Republicans want to keep ICE, 71-18 percent. But then it was GOP President Donald Trump who wanted the no-leniency policy on immigrant families.
- Democrats are split, 47 percent want ICE gone, while 44 percent want to keep it.
- Political independents want to keep the agency, 55-32 percent.
Only those who classified themselves as “very liberal” politically want to dump the agency, the rest, by healthy majorities, want to keep it.
Those very liberal folks want it gone, 57-36 percent.
Jones polled 809 adult voters from Aug. 22-31. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.
