A poll found that 46% of Americans support abolishing ICE, and a majority say that agents shouldn't be allowed to wear masks when making arrests.
"Are we really going to be the Gestapo? 'Where's your papers?' Is that what we've come to?"
That isn't anti-ICE rhetoric from a liberal critic of Donald Trump's deportation campaign, but the incredulous words of Joe Rogan -- the superstar podcaster who endorsed the president's 2024 election campaign and urged his millions of listeners to vote for the Republican.
Rogan, the biggest personality in the media "manosphere" that played a key role in encouraging men to vote for Trump, made the comments on an episode of his podcast released Tuesday. He was criticizing actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after an officer shot and killed US citizen Renee Good last week during a confrontation in Minneapolis.
His critique reflects a broader outrage among even some Trump supporters over ICE's hardline tactics, including the wearing of masks by agents, arrests of migrants who arrive at courthouses expecting a routine hearing, enforcement operations near schools and the use of military-style weapons and equipment.
A representative for Rogan didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Recently posted social media videos have depicted increasingly combative encounters. In one video, agents are seen dragging a woman from her vehicle after cutting her seat belt. She can be heard screaming for help. In another instance, authorities handcuff a man on the ground while one agent applies a knee to the man's head and neck area, a technique banned by authorities in Minnesota after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Now, 46% of Americans support abolishing ICE, according to a poll this month by The Economist/YouGov. In June 2025, only 27% did. Currently, a majority also say that agents shouldn't be allowed to wear masks when making arrests.
In the run-up to the 2024 election, the Biden administration's lax border policy weighed on the Democratic ticket after a surge of migrant arrivals into the country via the southern border with Mexico. Trump was able to ride the issue to victory and, in the wake of his win, the influx of people has slowed to a trickle.
Consequently, Americans have become less concerned with the matter, and worries over inflation are now top of mind.
In Minneapolis, Good's death has fueled protests against federal agents who deployed to the region starting in early December as part of an immigration crackdown and escalating fraud investigation focused on the Somali-American community. In the days following her death, thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest ICE's operations, while local and state officials have demanded that federal agents leave the region.
Trump administration officials led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have defended ICE's actions and said its officers are coming under assault from "domestic terrorists" seeking to disrupt their lawful work. ICE has said more than 2,500 "criminal illegal aliens" have been arrested in Minnesota, including gang members and people convicted of weapons offenses.
Though DHS has said nationwide immigration operations are targeting "the worst of the worst," a growing proportion of those arrested are accused of civil immigration violations or haven't been convicted of a crime in the US, according to government data.
Rogan, for his part, still supports the right of law enforcement to arrest and deport criminals. But he said on his podcast that "I can also see the point of view of the people that say, 'Yeah, but you don't want militarized people in the streets just roaming around snatching people up, many of which turn out to actually be US citizens that just don't have their papers on them.'"
It isn't the first time he has opposed ICE's actions. Rogan has previously lamented that Trump was moving away from his vow to target primarily violent criminals in his deportation campaign. In the podcast released Tuesday, which featured Republican Senator Rand Paul, the host said Good's killing in Minneapolis looked "horrific" and that it's "very ugly to watch someone shoot a US citizen, especially a woman, in the face."
While Rogan has long been a lightning rod for criticism, especially from liberals upset by his opposition to some progressive doctrines, his politics defy easy characterization. He supported Trump in 2024 but has previously endorsed left-wing firebrand Bernie Sanders for president and found common ground with the senator about the influence of "oligarchs."
That amorphous political outlook extends to some other figures in the manosphere too. Theo Von, who just like Rogan had featured both Trump and JD Vance on his podcast before the election, asked the Department of Homeland Security last year to not use him in one of its videos.
"Yooo DHS I didnt approve to be used in this," Von said in a social media post at the time. "I know you know my address so send a check. And please take this down and please keep me out of your 'banger' deportation videos. When it comes to immigration my thoughts and heart are a lot more nuanced than this video allows. Bye!"