Americans are not backing the Los Angeles protests with only a third taking the side of those standing up against the ICE deportation raids, a new poll finds.
Around one in three Americans (36 percent) said they approve of the protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, compared to 45 percent who disapprove, a YouGov poll of more than 4,200 U.S. adults found. Of those polled, 19 percent said they were not sure.
It comes as the Trump administration has ramped up its response after protests against sweeping immigration action broke out across the city over the weekend.
President Donald Trump has deployed thousands of military personnel, including the National Guard, to clamp down on demonstrations in Los Angeles, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has mobilized up to 700 Marines.
When asked who should take the lead in the response against the protests, 56 percent said it was the responsibility of state and local authorities, versus 25 percent who backed the federal government’s involvement.
Respondents were also split on whether the protesters were behaving mostly peacefully or mostly violently, with 38 percent saying the former and 36 percent the latter.
More people overall (47 percent) said they disapproved of the Trump administration’s deployment of the Marines to the LA area in response to the demonstrations, compared to 34 percent who approved.
The poll also found that 58 percent of Democrats approve of the protests, compared with just 15 percent of Republicans.
While many Democrats have railed against the Trump administration’s handling of the protests, Democratic Senator John Fetterman accused his party of failing to condemn the violence.
“My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement,” Fetterman said in a post on X. “I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations and immigration—but this is not that,” he said. “This is anarchy and true chaos.”
Demonstrators clashed with law enforcement Sunday in opposition to ICE raids targeting migrants. Cars were set on fire and looting was reported in downtown Los Angeles. Protests continued into Monday, where more than 100 people were arrested.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is suing the Trump administration for its heavy-handed approach in deploying the National Guard.
Trump said that LA “would be burning to the ground right now” if he hadn’t sent in thousands of military personnel. Trump said Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass were “incompetent” and a “total mess” in a Tuesday Truth Social post.
