I & I Editorial BoardWith the economy showing signs of strengthening, Democrats clearly hope that their attacks on ICE will help them win control of Congress after the midterm elections. Which is another reason for President Donald Trump to stay the course.
As Politico put it, “An ICE agent’s killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis has pushed the fight over immigration enforcement to the center of the midterm campaign trail — opening new fault lines in some of Democrats’ most competitive congressional primaries.”
It is true that the polls are not looking so hot for Trump’s handling of one of his signature campaign promises.
A CBS News poll finds that “more Americans say ICE is being too tough,” with 61% saying that, up from 56% in November. It finds that 52% say ICE is making communities less safe and that fewer than half (46%) approve
An AP poll finds that just 38% of adults support Trump’s handling of immigration, down from 49% last March.
A Pew Research Center poll finds that Trump’s approval among Hispanics has fallen.
Even the White House is said to be “worried” about poll numbers that administration officials are seeing.
Last week, Axios reported that “internal GOP polling” has “alarmed some Trump insiders.”
Those polls, it says, show that “60% of independent voters and 58% of undecided voters said Trump was ‘too focused” on deporting illegal immigrants” and that “ICE’s tactics are drawing pushback from some prominent Trump supporters.”
Axios quotes an unnamed “Trump adviser” as saying that while Trump wants deportations, “What he doesn’t want is what people are seeing. He doesn’t like the way it looks. It looks bad, so he’s expressed some discomfort at that.”
See Also: “Now We Know: Obama And Biden Deportation Numbers Were Bogus“
Fortunately, Trump doesn’t seem to be cowed by the polls.
On CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that the administration has no intention of stopping its work, not even in Minneapolis.
“We won’t stop until we are sure that all the dangerous people are picked up, brought to justice, and then deported back to their home countries,” she said.
That’s good news, because surrendering to the anti-ICE mob in a panic over the potential election fallout would be a political disaster of epic proportions. It would demoralize Trump’s base while energizing Democrats. It would lend credence to the radical left campaign to terrorize the nation to get its way.
That’s not to say that Trump couldn’t handle the situation more deftly. He and his leaders should be reminding the public every day of the scum and villainy that ICE is getting off our streets, and that Democrats are trying to protect.
That they are the ones fueling the violence and, as we said in this space Monday, “the pressure to turn down the temperature should be squarely on the Democrats.”
Surrender cannot and must not be an option.
— Written by the I&I Editorial Board
Related: “The Democrats’ Shock Troops Without Uniforms“
Support Independent Journalism
Issues & Insights was founded by seasoned journalists from the IBD Editorials page. Our mission is to provide timely, fact-based reporting and deeply informed analysis on the news of the day -- without fear or favor.
We’re doing this on a voluntary basis because we believe in a free press and because we aren't afraid to tell the truth, even if it means being targeted by the left.
We are 100% reader supported!!
If you like what you see, please feel free to donate.
And be sure to tell your friends!
I wonder if, along with the mugshots of the illegals, they posted pictures showing the victims of their heinous crimes. I would also post “these are the criminals being strongly supported by (insert democrat politician’s name) AND YOUR VOTE for any democrat.”
1. Who believes Axios? 2. The administration has been releasing the information you propose *daily*. Who is consistently reporting this data in the media?
ICE is not the problem. It is the activists spreading chaos and violence that are the problems. ICE is removing illegal aliens without issue in most states. It is only the Democrat strongholds that are problems. Democrats lied to Americans as they ushered in millions of illegal aliens and now they are lying while trying to keep all those illegal aliens in the USA at your expense. Deport every single alien here illegally.
“…scum and villainy…?” Whoever wrote this editorial must be familiar with Cincinnati.
One way to get this back in focus would be for Ms. Bondi to start every news conference with a summary: Last week XX child predators were arrested, XX murderers were arrested, xx drug dealers were arrested, etc. Do totals by week, month, and year-to-date. Eventually the message will get across.