Since taking office, President Donald Trump has made illegal immigration one of his administration’s top priorities.
To mitigate the drastic consequences resulting from the Biden administration’s lax border policies, the president has directed ICE to conduct operations nationwide and remove illegal immigrants.
Clips of ICE arresting illegal immigrants have gone viral all across social media, leading many, including conservatives, to view ICE negatively.
According to the Daily Mail, ICE holds just a 34% approval rating, with 45% of respondents opposing the agency’s work.
For context, ICE had a 39% approval rating in 2020, during Trump’s last year as president.
Despite the public’s outrage at the controversial ICE raids and operations, the president has insisted that the agency has not “done enough” when it comes to reducing illegal immigration in America’s cities.
At the beginning of the month, Trump sat down for an interview with CBS News host Norah O’Donnell, noting the difficulties that his immigration agenda has faced.
O’Donnell asked Trump if he supported ICE using violent tactics to remove people from the country.
“Yeah, because you have to get the people out,” he replied, pointing out that many illegal immigrants are criminals.
“Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people that were thrown out of their countries because they were, you know, criminals,” he said.
While Trump supports ICE, many Americans believe the agency has gone overboard with its deportation tactics.
Famed podcaster Joe Rogan, who notably interviewed Trump last year, blasted ICE in his latest interview with comedian Theo Von.
“You got ICE raids, where they’re taking people that are American citizens and they’re scaring the s*it out of everybody,” Rogan said.
Rogan also slammed the agency in October, noting how difficult it is for Americans to support its methods.
“When you arrest people in front of their kids who have been here for 20 years, everybody who has a heart can’t get along with that. If they have been productive, find a pathway to citizenship. Have a heart,” the podcaster said, before calling ICE’s tactics “horrific.”
ICE’s tactics appeared to have outraged many across America, with some taking matters into their own hands and assaulting officers.
The New York Post reported that attacks on immigration officers have increased by a staggering 1,150% since Trump was inaugurated.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 200 officers have been attacked.
“After months of Democrat politicians comparing ICE to Nazis, the gestapo, slave patrols, and even encouraging illegal aliens to resist arrest, our brave ICE law enforcement have been assaulted 238 times,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McClaughlin said.
“Our law enforcement officers have had Molotov cocktails and rocks thrown at them, been shot at, had cars used as weapons against them, and been physically assaulted. Sanctuary politicians need to tone the rhetoric down before a law enforcement officer is killed,” she added.
