After Minneapolis, Democrats confront political vulnerabilities to
battle Trump on immigration
[January 21, 2026]
By MATT BROWN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats had planned to campaign in the midterm
elections on affordability and health care, two issues where Americans
are particularly unhappy with President Donald Trump.
But the aggressive immigration crackdown in Minnesota, including the
killing of an American mother during a confrontation with federal
agents, has scrambled the party's playbook.
Now Democrats are trying to translate visceral outrage into political
strategy, even though there's little consensus on how to press forward
on issues where the party has recently struggled to earn voters' trust.
Some Democrats want to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a
proposal that echoes “defund the police” rhetoric from Trump's first
term, and impeach administration officials like Department of Homeland
Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Others have taken a different approach, introducing legislation intended
to curb alleged abuses by federal agents. However, those ideas have been
criticized by activists as insufficient, and there's mounting pressure
to obstruct funding for deportations in an ongoing funding debate.
“We’re Democrats. I’m sure we’re going to have 50 different ideas and 50
different ways to say it,” said Chuck Rocha, a party strategist who is
advising several House and Senate candidates on immigration this year.
If Democrats fail to strike the right balance, they could imperil their
efforts to retake control of Congress and statehouses around the
country. They could also hamper a chance to rebuild credibility with
voters whose dissatisfaction with border enforcement under President Joe
Biden helped return Trump to the White House.
Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and Biden's
former domestic policy adviser, believes the party can thread the
needle.
“It’s not too much to ask that we have a government that can produce a
secure border, that can deport people who are not legally here, and that
can also respect people’s civil and human rights,” she told The
Associated Press. “This country has done that before, and it can do it
again.”
Violent scenes force a strong Democratic response
Immigration crackdowns have spread from city to city since Trump took
office, but the latest operation in Minnesota has generated some of the
most intense controversy.
Renée Good, 37, was fatally shot by a federal agent earlier this month,
prompting protests and angry responses from local Democratic leaders.
Administration officials accused Good of trying to hit an agent with her
car, an explanation that has been widely disputed based on videos
circulating online.
“I think the party is very unified in our disdain and concern of the
actions certainly of DHS and ICE,” said Rep. Robert Garcia of
California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. “We
should campaign on fairness and due process for all people,” Garcia
added, “which is being violated every single day by ICE and DHS. We
should be aggressive in that posture.”
But pushing back on the administration requires Democrats to step onto
difficult political terrain.
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults trusted Republicans more to handle
immigration, according to a Washington Post/Ipsos poll from September,
higher than about 3 in 10 who said the same about Democrats.
On the issue of crime, Republicans also held the advantage. About 44%
thought Republicans were better, compared to 22% for the Democrats.
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Federal officers stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal
Building during a protest on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in
Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Republicans feel confident that their intertwined messages on crime
and immigration will resonate with voters in the midterms. They
frequently highlight violent criminals detained or deported,
downplaying examples of nonviolent migrants who have been swept up.
“If Democrats want to make 2026 a referendum on which party stands
for strong immigration policies and protecting public safety, we
will take that fight any day of the week,” said Republican National
Committee spokeswoman Delanie Bomar.
Some Democrats are more interested in using the issue as a way to
pivot back to core messages about health care and the cost of
living.
“I want everybody to understand, the cuts to your health care are
what’s paying for ICE to be doing this,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
of New York said last week. “The cuts to your health care are what’s
paying for this.”
Democratic strategists have circulated the clip as an example of a
potentially effective pitch, particularly after Trump slashed
funding for some safety net programs during his first year in
office.
Trump faces his own public opinion challenges
The president's approval may be slipping on the issue of
immigration.
His approval rating on the issue has fallen since the start of his
term, according to AP-NORC polling, from 49% last March to 38% in
January.
Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens,
the oldest Hispanic civil rights group in the U.S., said crackdowns
have hurt Trump politically.
“Republican members of Congress are really uncomfortable with these
agencies and their existing tactics, because they know it’s going to
hurt them back at home come election cycle,” he said.
Proaño said he had been disappointed with how Democrats had
accommodated the Trump administration on immigration in the last
year, but he praised changes in the party's strategy since Good's
death was captured on video.
“I think everyone just gasped at that, and I think there has been a
marked shift since then,” he said.
Some people who have vocally supported Trump in the past, like
podcast host Joe Rogan, have expressed reservations.
“Are we really going to be the Gestapo?” he asked recently.
But Trump has not shown any sign of backing down. The administration
has ramped up the number of federal agents deployed to Minnesota and
the Justice Department issued subpoenas to the state's Democrats,
including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, as part of
an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded enforcement
operations.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, who used to lead the
party in his home state of Minnesota, said “there's a lot of pain
and anguish.”
“It’s heartbreaking," he said in a recent interview. "It’s chilling
to think that this is the United States of America, what is supposed
to be a beacon for democracy and freedom.”
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