Two polls show that public opinion on ICE enforcement has been dragged to the left by the Democrats’ “Abolish ICE!” campaign.

A Pew poll of 1,007 adults shows that 47 percent have an unfavorable view of the immigration-enforcement agency, while 44 percent have a favorable view.

A Wall Street Journal poll of 900 registered voters shows that the public is split 38 percent positive and 37 percent negative over ICE. That is a 13-point shift from April when the public had a 34 percent positive and 26 percent negative view of the enforcement agency. The poll was taken July 15-18.

The polls highlight the public’s unease with the televised enforcement of the popular laws against sympathetic violators, such as the mothers and children who are separated in the process of adjudicating their claims for asylum.

This unease about enforcement is stronger among the suburban women voters needed by the House GOP and is exploited by the progressive media’s relentless focus on the concerns of the migrants, usually with the aid of progressive judges and pro-migration legal activists. The establishment media also sidelines Americans’ widespread concerns about cheap migrant labor, drugs and crowded schools.

This shift in opinion about ICE is a problem for the GOP, which wants to highlight the “Abolish ICE!” demand in the 2018 midterms to spur GOP turnout and to shift swing-voters towards the GOP.

According to Pew’s July 11-15 poll, 82 percent of left-wing Democrats oppose ICE, including 53 percent of who have a “Very unfavorable” view of the agency, which plays a huge role in deporting economic migrants and violent foreigners, reducing the company hiring of wage-cutting illegals, and in breaking up the drug networks. Only 20 percent of Democrats have a favorable view of the agency.

In contrast, 77 percent of conservatives and 72 percent of Republicans support the agency, according to Pew.

Other polls show the “Abolish ICE!” campaign is strongly favored by the Democratic Party’s progressive base.

In mid-July, the White House distributed a document describing the importance of ICE. It said:

Abolishing ICE would mean abolishing the agency that deports terrorist aliens from the United States. ICE was created in 2003 to better protect national security and public safety after 9/11 terrorists exploited lax immigration rules to gain entry into the United States and murder thousands of Americans. The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks found that many of the 9/11 hijackers committed violations like overstaying tourist visas or attending flight schools without an appropriate visa. Yet even now— years after the 9/11 foreign terrorists murdered thousands of innocent Americans— the U.S. continues to have hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals that illegally overstay their visa each and every year. In FY16 alone, roughly 629,000 foreign nationals unlawfully overstayed their visa. Visa overstays account for roughly 40 percent of all illegal immigration in the United States. Without ICE, all of these foreign nationals unlawfully residing in the United States in violation of their visas would be allowed to remain indefinitely. ICE protects public safety by removing dangerous criminal aliens from our communities. During FY17, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 125,000 aliens with criminal records. Criminal aliens arrested by ICE ERO in FY17 were responsible for: More than 80,000 DUI offenses

More than 76,000 dangerous drug offenses

More than 48,000 assault offenses

More than 11,000 weapon offenses

More than 5,000 sexual assault offenses

More than 2,000 kidnapping offenses

More than 1,800 homicide offenses ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made 4,818 arrests related to gang activity in FY17. Abolishing ICE would mean illegal aliens, who pose a threat to public safety, would be allowed to roam free instead of being removed from the country – resulting in countless preventable deaths and injuries. Seizing Deadly Drugs. Abolishing ICE would mean more dangerous illegal drugs left in circulation, causing thousands to needlessly suffer ICE plays a critical role in seizing dangerous illegal drugs and combatting the drug crisis facing our nation. ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including thousands of pounds of the deadly drugs fueling the opioid crisis. ICE HSI seized 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin. ICE HSI logged nearly 630,000 investigative hours directed towards fentanyl. Abolishing ICE would leave these deadly drugs in our communities to cause more devastation.

The White House’s crime-and-drugs pitch, however, ignores the economics of legal and illegal immigration.