Most Americans say it's ‘unacceptable’ for immigration officers to hide their faces, poll finds

Congress faces tight deadline to fund DHS

DHS funding fight shifts into high gear. This comes after the House narrowly passed the funding bill to end the partial shutdown. 

Amid the widely covered and ongoing clashes between immigration officers and communities around the country, many Americans have opinions about how immigration enforcement conducts themselves.

A recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that most Americans (61%) believe it is unacceptable for immigration officers to wear face coverings that hide their identities.

Here’s what else Americans believe is acceptable or not when it comes to how immigration officers conduct enforcement: 

Racial profiling

Most Americans (72%) believe it is unacceptable to use a person’s appearance or language as a reason to check their immigration status, according to Pew. 

Recording immigration officers

Most Americans (74%) say it’s acceptable for people to record ICE agents while they make arrests. 

Tracking raids

Most Americans (59%) believe it is acceptable to share the whereabouts of immigration operations with their communities. 

FILE - Observers film ICE agents as they hold a perimeter after one of their vehicles got a flat tire on Penn Avenue on Feb. 5, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Along party lines

Dig deeper:

When responses are broken down along political party affiliation, most Republicans find sharing information about where raids are taking place or recording immigration officers unacceptable compared to Democrats. 

What’s more, Republicans found it far more acceptable to report people who they believed were in the country illegally compared to their Democrat counterparts, Pew found. 

Funding DHS

Big picture view:

Recent negotiations over funding ICE come amid some bipartisan sentiment that Congress should step in to de-escalate tensions over the enforcement operations that have rocked Minnesota and other states. 

But finding real agreement in such a short time will be difficult, if not "an impossibility," as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday.

The backstory:

President Donald Trump last week agreed to a Democratic request that funding for the DHS be separated from a larger spending bill and extended at current levels for two weeks while the two parties discuss possible requirements for the federal agents.

One of the demands brought forth by Democrats that is causing disagreement among Republicans is masking. 

As videos and photos of aggressive immigration tactics and high-profile shootings circulate nationwide, agents covering their faces with masks has become a flashpoint. 

RELATED: ICE in Minnesota: DHS deploying body cameras to all federal agents

Democrats argue that removing the masks would increase accountability. Republicans warn it could expose agents to harassment and threats.

Immigration officers are already required to identify themselves "as soon as it is practical and safe to do so," according to federal regulations. ICE officials insist those rules are being followed.

Critics, however, question how closely officers adhere to the regulations.

"We just see routinely that that’s not happening," said Nithya Nathan Pineau, a policy attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.