Amid ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts around the country, Americans overwhelmingly say it is acceptable for ordinary people to record video of immigration arrests. A clear majority also say it’s acceptable for people to share information about where enforcement is happening.
And by wide margins, the public says it’s not acceptable for federal immigration officers to wear face coverings that hide their identities, or to use people’s appearance or language use as a reason for checking their immigration status.
A new Pew Research Center survey of 8,512 U.S. adults conducted Jan. 20-26 finds that:
- 74% say it is acceptable for people to record video of immigration officers while they make arrests.
- 59% say it’s acceptable to share information about where officers are making arrests.
When it comes to the actions of federal immigration officers:
- 72% of Americans say it’s unacceptable for them to use people’s appearance or the language they speak as a reason to check their immigration status.
- 61% say it is unacceptable for officers to wear face coverings that hide their identities while working.
Americans are more divided when it comes to officers arresting U.S. citizens who help others avoid immigration enforcement: 44% say this is acceptable, while 54% say it is unacceptable. Similarly, 44% say it is acceptable for immigration officers to increase their presence in neighborhoods with many immigrants, while 54% say this is unacceptable.
Note: The survey was in the field on Jan. 24, when 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot and killed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis – the second killing of a protestor by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month.
Partisans’ views of actions by ordinary people
Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats say it is acceptable for people to record video of immigration officers while they make arrests. However, Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party (89%) are substantially more likely to say this than Republicans and Republican leaners (59%).
The partisan gap is wider when it comes to sharing information about where immigration officers are making arrests. Eight-in-ten Democrats say this is acceptable, compared with 36% of Republicans. A majority of Republicans (63%) say this is unacceptable.
By contrast, Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say it is acceptable for ordinary people to report those they think may be in the country illegally: 77% of Republicans say this is acceptable, compared with just 27% of Democrats.
Within each party, there are notable differences by racial and ethnic background.
Among Democrats
- About two-thirds of Black Democrats (68%) say it is acceptable to share officers’ locations. Larger shares of White (84%), Asian (81%) and Hispanic (79%) Democrats say the same.
- Hispanic Democrats are less likely than other Democrats to say it is acceptable to report people they suspect of being in the country illegally. Just 16% hold this view.
Among Republicans
- Hispanic Republicans are more likely than White Republicans to say it is acceptable to record video of immigration officers (67% vs. 56%) or share the location of immigration officers (47% vs. 32%).
- Conversely, White Republicans are more likely than Hispanic Republicans to say it is acceptable to report those they suspect of being in the country illegally (82% vs. 62%).
There are also age differences among Republicans:
- 66% of Republicans ages 18 to 49 say it’s acceptable to record video of immigration officers. This drops to 52% among Republicans ages 50 and older.
- 48% of Republicans ages 18 to 49 say it’s acceptable to share officers’ locations, compared with just 25% of those ages 50 and older.
Full breakdowns by party, age, and race and ethnicity are shown in the detailed tables.
How Democrats and Republicans view the actions of immigration officers
Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to approve of actions that federal immigration officers might take.
Large majorities of Republicans say it is acceptable for immigration officers to:
- Arrest U.S. citizens who help others avoid arrest (76%)
- Increase their presence in neighborhoods with many immigrants (74%)
- Wear face coverings that hide their identities while working (68%)
Overwhelming majorities of Democrats say each of these actions is unacceptable.
When it comes to using a person’s looks or the language they speak as a reason to check their immigration status, Republicans are divided: 48% say this is acceptable, while 51% say it is unacceptable. Roughly nine-in-ten Democrats (91%) say this is unacceptable.
Similar to the patterns in how people interact with immigration officers, White Republicans are at least 13 percentage points more likely than Hispanic Republicans to view each of these actions by officers as acceptable.
Note: While responses to the items in the survey were largely consistent across the Jan. 20-26 field period, Republicans who completed the survey in the days after Pretti was killed were somewhat more likely than those who responded earlier to say recording immigration officers and sharing their locations are acceptable. They were also somewhat less likely than those who responded earlier to view immigration officers wearing face coverings and using a person’s looks or the language they speak as a reason to check their immigration status as acceptable. Refer to the appendix for details.
