ICE A Top Issue for Chicago Voters in 2026 Primary

Chicago voters heading to Tuesday’s primary polls are carrying strong opinions about federal immigration enforcement, according to new survey data that suggests President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz could shape races up and down the ballot.

A poll commissioned by Hands Off Chicago, an immigrants’ rights coalition, found that 63 percent of registered voters in the Chicago area hold negative views of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Seven in 10 likely voters say a candidate’s position on ICE is either the most important issue or a very important factor in deciding whom to support.

The survey was conducted by polling firm GBAO between March 1 and March 4, reaching 800 registered voters across Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry and Will counties.

Trump’s overall approval in the region sits at just 33 percent. His handling of immigration scores only slightly better at 35 percent, reflecting the deep resistance to federal enforcement tactics that have reshaped the city’s political conversation since last fall.

Operation Midway Blitz sent federal agents into Chicago neighborhoods in an unprecedented sweep that resulted in thousands of arrests. The operation left lasting marks beyond deportation numbers. Agents killed one man, shot a woman five times, and tear-gassed a 1-year-old child. Federal officials framed the campaign as targeting undocumented immigrants with serious criminal histories, describing those arrested as “the worst of the worst.” Records told a different story. Most people arrested during Midway Blitz had no criminal record.

Lawrence Benito, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, a member organization of Hands Off Chicago, said the data points toward an energized electorate.

“This research shows that voters across demographics are deeply opposed to Trump’s immigration agenda, and that his violent and hostile approach has further motivated and mobilized people across Illinois against it,” Benito said in a statement. “As we head into Tuesday’s election, watch for those who stood up strongly against ICE and Operation Midway Blitz to perform better than those who were silent or sat on the sidelines.”

The Chicago area leans heavily Democratic, and Trump has never been popular here. But the intensity behind these immigration numbers goes beyond standard partisan disapproval. A majority of respondents described their impressions of ICE as “deeply negative,” a phrase that suggests something rawer than standard political opposition. This is a region that watched federal agents operate in its streets with a scale and aggression that many residents had never seen.

Voters who have not already cast early ballots will go to the polls Tuesday to decide congressional, Senate, gubernatorial, state legislative and county races. The primary field includes candidates who have been vocal critics of Midway Blitz and the Trump administration’s broader deportation agenda, as well as others who kept a lower profile as the operation unfolded.

The survey did not break down respondents by party affiliation, meaning it is unclear how opinion on ICE splits between Democrats, Republicans and independents in the sample.

Still, the topline numbers carry weight in a city where the fall enforcement operation touched neighborhoods across the map. Chicago has long maintained sanctuary city policies limiting local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The conflict between those local policies and the aggressive posture of the current federal administration has put immigration at the center of conversations that might otherwise focus on bread-and-butter issues like crime, the economy and city services.

For candidates in competitive primary races, the poll suggests there is political cost to ambiguity. Voters who watched Midway Blitz unfold on their streets and social media feeds are not looking for nuance. They want to know where their representatives stood when federal agents were working their neighborhoods.

Polls open Tuesday morning. For many Chicago-area voters, the question of how a candidate responded to Operation Midway Blitz will follow them right into the voting booth.