The images out of Minneapolis did more than spark protests—they reshuffled voter priorities. As ICE crackdowns intensified concerns over civil rights, new polling shows immigration, a core issue for Donald Trump’s political brand, slipping behind concerns about civil liberties for the first time in years.
The change marks a clear breakpoint at the start of 2026. After consistently ranking above civil rights and civil liberties for years, immigration fell behind both in late January, according to weekly tracking from YouGov and The Economist.
That shift coincided with the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two Minneapolis residents fatally shot by federal immigration agents during heightened ICE operations that drew national scrutiny and outrage. The backlash appears to have accelerated a broader reassessment of immigration enforcement, pushing the issue lower on the list of what voters now see as the country’s most pressing concerns.
In the latest tracking, civil rights now rank ahead of immigration, with civil liberties close behind—reversing a long-standing hierarchy and marking immigration’s weakest standing since the start of Trump’s second term.
The decline represents a sharp reversal from just months earlier, when immigration dominated the political agenda amid record border crossings during the the Biden administration. Under Trump, crossings have fallen to near zero, and the polling suggests voter urgency has faded along with them. Attention has instead shifted toward how interior enforcement is being carried out and the domestic consequences of those tactics.
Americans Are Unhappy
In what is shaping up to be one of the most defining months of Trump’s second term—with a dramatic immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, an unprecedented military action to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and a tense showdown over Greenland dominating headlines—by the end of January, Americans appear increasingly uneasy with what they are seeing.
According to the latest polling, Trump’s net approval has slid sharply—from +2 at the start of his second term to -18—while the share of Americans who say the country is on the wrong track has grown substantially.
Economic concerns still occupy the top tier of voter priorities. Inflation and the cost of living remain dominant, followed by jobs and the broader economy. Health care continues to rank high, especially among Democrats, while taxes, government spending, national security, and crime round out the list.
On immigration, Republican voters continue to place significant weight on the issue. Among independents and Democrats, however, it is increasingly viewed through the lens of enforcement tactics and accountability rather than policy outcomes.
Confidence in ICE Has Collapsed
As civil rights and civil liberties gain ground in voter priorities, confidence in Immigration and Customs Enforcement has eroded sharply. Another Economist/YouGov poll shows this shift playing out institutionally: 55 percent of Americans now say they have very little confidence in ICE, up from 45 percent in December, making it one of the least trusted public institutions in the survey.
The drop has been especially pronounced among independents. Two-thirds (67 percent) of self-identified independents now say they have very little confidence in the agency, a striking increase from 49 percent just weeks earlier. Three-quarters of the poll’s respondents were surveyed after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.
The same polling also points to growing openness to scaling back ICE’s role. More Americans want ICE funding decreased (51 percent) than support reductions in any of nine other major government spending categories included in the survey, from foreign aid to Social Security.
While Republicans remain largely supportive of ICE, majorities of Democrats and independents now back funding cuts, deepening the political divide around enforcement.
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