Survey Finds Bipartisan Consensus that Immigration Enforcement Should Not Cause Fear and Avoidance of Critical Social Services and Benefits

By Mackenzie Pish, NLIHC Research Analyst

A recent nationally representative survey conducted by PerryUndem, in partnership with the Protecting Immigrant Families coalition (PIF), revealed bipartisan concern about current immigration enforcement actions and the impact of those actions on immigrant families’ access to social services and benefits. The survey found that a majority of adults think that immigration enforcement should not be permitted in certain public service facilities and would be concerned if immigration enforcement caused people to avoid securing social services and benefits. 

The 10-question survey was administered in March 2026 to 1,133 adults aged 18 and over. The survey addressed opinions on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) approaches generally and investigated how ICE actions and current federal immigration policies are impacting U.S. citizens, lawfully present immigrants, and immigrant families. Respondents were selected from a nationally representative sample frame provided by NORC at the University of Chicago and participated through NORC’s biweekly AmeriSpeak Omnibus survey. 

The survey found that about two-thirds of adults do not approve of ICE’s enforcement actions and think actions have “gone too far.” Across all respondents and even within political party affiliations, most adults do not believe that ICE should detain or arrest U.S. citizens or legally present immigrants. Nearly 3 in 4 adults believe that U.S. citizens in immigrant families are being intimidated and wrongfully detained. While there is partisan variance, most adults believe that certain public facilities should be off limits to ICE arrests and detention. A majority of respondents felt that ICE should not be allowed to detain or arrest someone in a school (68%), hospital (60%), local health clinic (58%), or local nonprofits that provide social services like housing (54%). Notably, this question asked respondents about ICE arrests of people generally and did not condition arrests based on citizenship status or lawful presence, suggesting that the respondents cared about safeguarding these places from ICE entirely.  

The consensus around off-limit public facilities aligns with shared concerns about the impact of ICE actions on people's ability to access and receive social services and benefits. Seventy-two percent of all adults—including 87% of democrats, 64% of independents, and 63% of republicans—believe that misinformation about immigrants’ use of public benefit programs is used to build support for policies that exclude immigrants from those programs. Eighty-three percent of adults believe that people who are here legally and pay taxes should be able to get help with essential needs like food and healthcare. This sentiment is shared by a majority of democrats (92%), independents (84%), and republicans (74%). Similarly, a majority of adults reported that they would be concerned if ICE enforcement actions caused citizens in immigrant families to avoid food banks, medical care, work, and applying for public benefits. Most adults, including majorities from each political party, agree that Medicaid should be restored to immigrants who are in the U.S. legally. Most adults also agree that Medicaid data should not be used to identify or locate immigrants for deportation. 

The Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition and PerryUndem contend that this survey reveals greater agreement on immigration and its impacts across political party affiliations than expected. They suggest that the findings reveal a shared public desire for improved approaches to immigration enforcement and reduced harm to immigrant families.  

Read the report here.