Most Americans Want ICE To Leave Minneapolis, Say Feds Not Honest About Pretti Killing, Quinnipiac Poll Finds

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A new Quinnipiac University national poll finds that a majority of American voters want U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to pull out of Minneapolis and do not believe the federal government has given an honest account of the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti.

Quinnipiac said that 60 percent of respondents say ICE should withdraw from Minneapolis, while 36 percent want the agency to continue its operations in the city.

The question follows intense national attention on federal immigration enforcement after Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.

The poll also shows 61 percent of voters say the Trump administration has not given an honest account of the incident, compared with 25 percent who say the administration has been honest and 14 percent who offered no opinion.

Support for an independent investigation into the shooting was broad, with 80 percent of voters nationwide saying there should be an independent investigation, while 15 percent said there should not be one.

Democrats and independents overwhelmingly said the federal government has not been honest about the shooting, while a majority of Republicans said the administration has given an honest account.

The survey also found declining approval of ICE more broadly. Sixty-three percent of voters disapprove of the way ICE is enforcing immigration laws, while 34 percent approve. A majority of voters said recent ICE-involved shootings in Minneapolis are a sign of broader problems in how the agency operates, rather than isolated incidents.

Public confidence in federal leadership overseeing ICE was also low. Fifty-eight percent of voters say Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should be removed from her position, while 34 percent say she should remain in the job.

The Quinnipiac poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Read the study here.