Poll: Americans reject ICE at airports, want Trump to end the war in Iran
A special Strength In Numbers/Verasight flash poll finds majorities oppose deploying ICE to airports, blame Trump for disruptions, and overwhelmingly oppose sending ground troops to Iran
This article reports results from a special flash poll conducted by Strength In Numbers and Verasight from March 24-25, 2026, among 750 U.S. adults (margin of error +/- 3.6%). You can read our previous poll releases here.
The Trump administration is fighting public opinion on two fronts this week. First, our new poll finds a majority of adults blame the president and Senate Republicans for the current chaos at U.S. airports, and Americans oppose sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to help the Transportation Security Administration. Voters also disapprove of the president publicly refusing an offer from Senate Republicans to fund the non-ICE agencies in the Department of Homeland Security, including the TSA.
Second, the public also broadly opposes a possible escalation of the war against Iran that would put boots on the ground in the country. Voters want the U.S. to pursue ceasefire negotiations and an end to the conflict.
Here are the toplines from our new survey:
Headline findings
ICE at airports: 53% disapprove of deploying ICE agents to airports; 59% disapprove of Trump rejecting the Senate DHS funding deal.
Airport chaos: 77% say conditions at airports are worse than usual, and 52% blame the Trump administration or Senate Republicans for the current chaos — nearly double the 25% who blame Democrats.
ICE trust: Only 37% trust ICE to act professionally — the lowest of any agency we tested.
Iran: 72% oppose sending ground troops into the conflict. 60% prefer the U.S. pursue a ceasefire and negotiate with Iran, vs 29% who want to continue military operations.
A full topline document and methodology statement is linked at the bottom of this article.
Americans oppose ICE at airports and blame Trump for the current chaos
Earlier this week, the Trump administration’s head of immigration enforcement, Tom Homan, announced ICE agents would be dispatched to airports across America to “help” the TSA, which is low on agents due to a funding lapse from the current DHS shutdown.
In our brand new poll, 53% of Americans disapprove of this policy, while 40% approve of the Trump administration’s decision to deploy ICE agents at U.S. airports. And the backlash extends to how Trump is handling the DHS funding fight; Senate Republican leaders recently proposed a deal that would fund the TSA and most of DHS while leaving ICE funding for later, but Trump rejected it. We asked Americans how they felt about this rejection, and 59% of adults said they disapproved of the president’s decision — including 42% who strongly disapprove. Only 28% total approve (either somewhat or strongly).
Americans aren’t split about who’s responsible for the mess at airports, either. When asked who is most to blame for current airport problems, 52% pointed to the Trump administration or Republicans in Congress (45% said Trump) — over double the 25% who blamed Democrats in Congress.
And the chaotic conditions at U.S. airports right now are very visible. Our poll found 56% of Americans think “things are significantly worse than usual” at domestic airports right now, whereas just 7% said things are running well:
Our poll also found a slight plurality of Americans, 39% to 30%, say sending ICE to U.S. airports makes air travel less safe.
ICE is the least-trusted law enforcement agency
While the overall favorability rating of ICE as an agency has plummeted over the last 4 months, ICE agents as a group have developed a very negative public image, too. We asked Americans how much they trust various types of law enforcement to act professionally and follow the law, and ICE officers ranked dead last. Here’s the data in chart form:
Frankly, ICE isn’t just at the bottom of the list, it’s in a category of its own. Fully 46% of Americans say they do not trust ICE agents to “act professionally and follow the law” at all — nearly half the country. The next closest, however, is Border Patrol at 24% “not at all.” That number is 6% for the U.S. military.
Every other agency we tested — local police, state police, FBI, U.S. Marshals, TSA, even Border Patrol — is trusted by a majority of Americans. ICE is the only one that isn’t, and it’s not close.
Trump has been calling on ICE agents more frequently recently to accomplish his political and electoral goals. But by putting the agency in front of millions of business and personal travelers, the Trump administration unwittingly chose to put some of its most unpopular members face-to-face with the public.
72% oppose sending ground troops to Iran
Pivoting topics now, the numbers on the latest news out of Iran are even worse.
72% of Americans oppose sending U.S. ground troops to Iran, our poll shows, including 53% who strongly oppose it. Boots on the ground earns support from just 20% of adults, including 7% who would “strongly support” such an escalation. Republicans are most supportive, but even they on net oppose the president deploying military troops to the country, 51% to 38%.
My other Strength In Numbers analyses have shown the war with Iran has been unpopular from the start, never produced a rally effect for Trump’s approval rating, and a majority already call it a bad use of taxpayer dollars.
Additionally, 60% of respondents say the U.S. should pursue a ceasefire and negotiate with Iran, compared to just 29% who say they want the U.S. to continue military operations until its goals are achieved.
Generally, the only way a president gets to a 60-30 divide against them is with some deep defection from their own party. On the ceasefire question, we see exactly this. Yes, 87% of Democrats want a ceasefire — but so do 65% of independents and 30% of Republicans.
Lastly, 70% say the president should be required to get approval from Congress before deploying ground troops — a bipartisan consensus for an interpretation of war powers rooted in Article I of the Constitution. Just 22% say the president should be able to make the decision to deploy troops anywhere and any time he wants on his own.
No good solution to Iran, DHS for Trump
Our fresh Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll shows the public is not simply uneasy with Trump’s approach on ICE and Iran, but actively resistant to it — and the political consequences are starting to come into focus.
On the DHS front, Senate Republicans already tried to give Trump an off-ramp with a funding deal that would have kept the TSA running. He rejected it, and 59% of Americans disapprove of that decision. As airport chaos continues into spring break travel season, the pressure on GOP senators to break with the president will only grow. Every day of long lines and confused ICE agents at security checkpoints makes it more likely Republicans will cave.
On Iran, the 72% opposition to ground troops — including net opposition among Republicans — leaves the administration with almost no political cover for escalation. And unlike some past conflicts, there’s been no rally effect to bail the president out. If anything, the war has been a drag on his approval, with the president hitting a new all-time-low job approval rating on March 23, 2026. With midterms 7 months away, Republican members of Congress have to decide whether they want to own an unpopular ground war on top of an unpopular budget and an unpopular airport crisis.
Almost every policy proposal and major action of the Trump administration has been dramatically unpopular with the American people. The news this week is no different.
You can download a full topline file, key crosstabs where they are mentioned in this article, and methodology statement using the link below:
If you have any questions about this poll or the release, please email polling[AT]gelliottmorris.com.
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When might you write on the Democrats' failure to gain ground on the generic ballot despite all the Trump/GOP negativity you post about daily?