North Dakota Poll Shows Strong Support for Local Police Working with ICE Despite National Outcry

A new North Dakota Poll finds a striking majority of residents—68%—approve of local law enforcement cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This broad support cuts across much of the state, including Fargo and Cass County, where 56% back police-ICE collaboration despite recent ICE-related violence in neighboring Minnesota that left two U.S. citizens dead.

The poll highlights a sharp partisan divide. Democrats overwhelmingly oppose local cooperation with ICE, with 62% disapproving and only 34% in favor. State Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, a Fargo Democrat, expressed surprise at the overall support levels. Hogan pointed out that the narrative portraying ICE arrests as targeting only criminals is misleading, noting that North Dakota has seen far less enforcement activity compared to Democratic-led states like Minnesota, Chicago, or Los Angeles. “They haven’t experienced what those states have,” Hogan said.

Republican state House Speaker Robin Weisz was also somewhat taken aback by the relatively high approval among Democrats and the strong support in Fargo. Immigration ranked as the second most pressing issue among North Dakotans after the Iran conflict, with 17% citing it as the nation’s biggest concern.

On election issues, voter fraud and election security ranked low as concerns, with only 7% naming them as top worries. However, when asked about elections, 61% said their primary concern was election security rather than voter access. Notably, 75% of respondents support requiring proof of citizenship to vote in North Dakota. The state already enforces strict ID requirements and cross-references voter information with state databases to prevent illegal voting. State officials emphasize the security of their mail-in ballot system and see no need for changes.

The poll also found that 68% of North Dakotans feel their public officials are accountable to voters, with Republicans expressing greater confidence than Democrats or independents. Political science professor Mark Jendrysik suggests that North Dakotans’ higher trust in local officials may stem from the close-knit nature of the state’s communities.

While trust in state party representatives remains solid, views of national parties are more mixed. Among Republicans, 20% see the national GOP as too aligned with the MAGA movement, while Democrats are divided over the national party’s ties to liberal groups and establishment donors.

Conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling from April 15 to 19, 2026, the survey interviewed 625 North Dakota adults statewide. The sample included 41% Republicans, 37% independents, and 22% Democrats.

This poll underscores how immigration enforcement remains a deeply polarizing issue, with North Dakota residents largely supporting local collaboration with ICE despite national controversies and deadly enforcement actions nearby. It also reveals persistent misconceptions about election integrity and highlights the complex relationship voters have with their local and national political parties.