Republicans in tough races are suddenly concerned about ICE, too
(CNN) — One of the surest signs that Republicans are quite concerned about the 2026 midterm elections is the sudden onslaught of them distancing themselves from President Doanld Trump and his unpopular policies. They’ve called for an end to the Iran war, criticized his tariffs and removed Trump references from their website.
And now we can add another one to the list: They’re suddenly taking issue with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
And that includes some of the agency’s strongest allies.
An ICE enforcement operation in Kansas drew some concerned statements from both of the state’s GOP senators on Wednesday. And in Maine, congressional candidate Paul LePage is crying foul over what he said was the wrongful deportation of a family member.
The situation is Kansas is still fluid, but ICE appears to be targeting cities in the southwestern portion of the state with large populations working in the meatpacking industry. The enforcement actions drew statements urging care from both Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall – the latter of whom is perhaps the most surprisingly vulnerable GOP senator right now.
After local officials cried foul over the lack of coordination, and both businesses and schools struggled to deal with the upheaval, Moran and Marshall each issued statements urging ICE to coordinate better.
“When ICE operates in Kansas, it needs to coordinate with our local law enforcement,” Marshall posted on X. “Our sheriffs and police know these communities better than anyone, and working together keeps officers and residents safe.”
He added that he was “closely following what’s happening in SW Kansas” and has been in touch with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Marshall’s comments are particularly notable given his past commentary about ICE.
While Moran raised concerns about the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis in January, Marshall went in a very different direction.
A week after Good was killed, Marshall told CNN’s Jake Tapper that “sometimes there’s collateral damage” and that “we could be just as easily talking about the death of ICE agents.”
Two days later, he told Fox Business Network that “we’re grateful for all the ICE officers in there risking their lives.”
He continued praising ICE in the months that followed and, in March, authored an op-ed defending how ICE carries out apprehensions.
The story is similar with LePage in Maine.
The former governor has a long history of strident immigration views, including criticizing asylum-seekers in his state as liabilities who bring disease and drain public resources.
And after an ICE agent shot and killed a man in Biddeford, Maine, in July, LePage cautioned that law enforcement are “often in situations where they have to make split-second decisions.” He also accused the other side of trying “to politicize this incident to try and perpetuate illegal immigration.”
But this week, LePage held a press conference where he accused ICE of wrongfully moving to deport his son’s father-in-law, despite his having a work permit.
LePage said the man is “being deported because he came from a country that’s not liked by certain people in Washington.”
“That’s not right,” LePage said.
He also called for ICE to focus more on “people in the gangs and criminals.”
The comments from Marshall and LePage come after some Republicans from heavily Hispanic congressional districts recently distanced themselves from Trump’s deportation policies.
That made sense for Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida and Monica De La Cruz of Texas, given polls showing Hispanics have swung hard against Trump over the past two years.
But it’s perhaps more telling to see this dynamic stretch into Kansas, which Trump won by 16 points in 2024, and Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, which Trump won by nine points. And that’s especially given the prior rhetoric of some of the GOP lawmakers who are suddenly expressing concern.
Of course, as with the long-unpopular Iran war, the writing has been on the wall when it comes to Americans’ concerns about ICE and Trump’s deportations for a while now.
A July CNN poll showed three-quarters of Americans said ICE uses force inappropriately at least “sometimes,” including 54% who said it happens “often.” A Quinnipiac University poll at the time showed registered voters disapproved of ICE 60%-37%.
But elections have a tendency to make people suddenly notice problems from which they might have previously averted their gaze.
The-CNN-Wire
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