The Focus Group Podcast – S6 Ep22: “Put Excuses on ICE” (with Adrian Carrasquillo)

Date: January 31, 2026
Host: Sarah Longwell
Guest: Adrian Carrasquillo (The Bulwark’s immigration correspondent, author of “Huddled Masses”)

Main Theme and Purpose

This episode delves deep into the growing national outrage and anxiety over recent deadly encounters between ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and American citizens, including the high-profile killings of Renee Goode and Alex Preddy. Host Sarah Longwell and guest Adrian Carrasquillo unpack what is happening on the ground in Minneapolis and how these incidents are resonating with swing voters—particularly Trump voters who now disapprove of his handling of immigration enforcement. The show combines reporting, voter focus group insights, and analysis of shifting public opinion and political fallout.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Minneapolis on Edge: Inside the Community’s Fear and Grief

• Adrian’s On-the-Ground Reporting (02:48–06:38)

  • Adrian describes his immersion in Minneapolis post the Renee Goode shooting:
    • Community organizers are fielding an “incredible crush of incoming”—helping undocumented and documented immigrants alike, who are now “locked in their homes” out of terror.
    • Business owners, even those who are US citizens, are losing up to 90% of their business as Latinos are too afraid to go out.
    • The fear isn’t limited to undocumented folks: “He’s been a US citizen for 25 years. The Renee Goode shooting terrified him because now he’s scared to leave work. If they’re going to do that to a white woman, what are they going to do to him?” (Adrian Carrasquillo, 04:24)

• Protest Mood and Community Response

  • White, native-born Americans are joining in Minneapolis protests. It’s not just about individual incidents, but a broader rejection: “Broadly, we don’t want you here.” (Adrian Carrasquillo, 05:56)
  • Organizers are openly targeted and harassed by federal agents.

2. Focus Group: Voters React to the Killing of Alex Preddy

• Swing Trump Voters, Now Critical of ICE (09:13–14:29)

  • Voters express unease and anger over the violence and lack of accountability:
    • “If he had a weapon and he pointed it at them…I understand, they’re federal agents. But if it was just that they saw a gun and shot him…that’s not right.” (10:18)
    • “It doesn’t look justified…I’ll give it more time, but right now it looks bad.” (09:50)
  • Skepticism over the official story, immediate justification from officials without investigation, and rising calls to remove leadership (“Kristi Noem should be removed…She’s setting fear in a lot of communities. That’s not what I voted for.” [12:00–12:26])

• Shift From Past Incidents

  • Voters felt Alex Preddy’s killing was different and less ambiguous than Renee Goode’s. Now, “everybody’s like, I don’t know, there were seven guys. They were on top of him. He was down on the ground.” (Sarah Longwell, 13:46)
  • Even swing voters, who usually “give benefit of the doubt,” are losing patience.

3. ICE’s Harsh Tactics and Eroding Public Trust

• Mask-Wearing, Lack of Accountability, and Heavy-Handedness (18:50–23:58)
  • Focus group sentiment: calls to reform or even abolish ICE are rising. Voters, even those critical of immigration, recoil at masked agents and secretive tactics:
    • “Their police wear masks… that makes no sense. It seems like [Trump’s] using it as a private police force to intimidate, to scare.” (Trump Voter, 18:50)
    • “They can go into people’s houses…that is very reminiscent of the Holocaust.” (Sarah Longwell, 22:11)
  • Concern that ordinary citizens, not just undocumented immigrants or criminals, are being harmed or unjustly targeted.

4. The Liam Ramos Case and the Emotional Center of the Debate

• Five-Year-Old Detained as “Bait” (32:25–34:55)
  • Harrowing group testimony from a Trump-voting mother: US-citizen children detained at gunpoint alongside her Puerto Rican family.
  • Detainment of a five-year-old as “bait”:
    • “People see their own kids…Liam Ramos is sent 1200 miles away to Texas…celebrated their fifth birthday in detention.” (Adrian Carrasquillo, 32:49)
  • Conditions described as “horrible”—children in detention for months, food with bugs, etc.
  • Broad agreement that targeting children “should bring the Trump administration to its knees.”

5. Debate Among Democrats: Reform vs. Abolish ICE? (27:02–29:53)

• Focus group and political panelists agree most Americans want some enforcement, but are increasingly repulsed by cruelty and excess.
• Adrian: Democrats lack imagination and creativity in policy response compared to Trump’s team (“creative in their cruelty"). Suggests policy avenues: remove Border Patrol from cities, increase transparency and accountability, focus on individual stories to connect with the public.

6. ICE’s Political Fallout and the Administration’s Calculus (39:07–41:12)

• Even some immigration “hawks” critical of the administration:

  • “If they wanted to actually get rid of illegal immigrants…just say it’s illegal to employ them…Go after the employers.” (Trump Voter, 37:47)
  • ICE’s methods are causing more division than effective enforcement.

• Some in the administration see Stephen Miller’s tactics as intentionally “screwing” their own side for midterm political reasons, misjudging the backlash.

7. Wider Context: Cameras, Cruelty, and Trust in Law

• The most chilling moments—Alex Preddy’s shooting, the treatment of children—are documented and public, raising fears about worse behind closed doors.
  • “What are they doing when the cameras aren’t on them?” (Sarah Longwell, 42:15)
  • “Americans don’t think deeply about detention—but the reality is, it’s horrible.” (Adrian Carrasquillo, 42:58)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On pervasive fear:
  “People are locked in their homes right now, scared to come out. I was with her and she filled up someone's gas tank because they were too scared to go to the gas station.”
  — Adrian Carrasquillo (03:31)

• On ordinary citizens feeling targeted regardless of status:
  “He’s been a US citizen for 25 years…the Renee Goode shooting terrified him, because now he’s scared to leave work. If they’re gonna do that to a white woman, what are they gonna do to him?”
  — Adrian Carrasquillo (04:24)

• On ICE’s lack of transparency and accountability:
  “Their police wear masks…that makes no sense. It seems like [Trump’s] using it as his own private police force to intimidate, to scare.”
  — Trump voter (18:50)

  “In a liberal democracy, that kind of accountability, like, comes with the package…It is insane. The guy who said, it looks like a South American dictatorship through the police forces covering their faces—that is not what we do here.”
  — Sarah Longwell (25:19)

• On the moral line for voters:
  “It’s clear to me that the voters in their minds said, no, he’s gonna deport dangerous criminals. Like, that is what they heard.”
  — Sarah Longwell (22:11)

• On children in detention and broader moral outrage:
  “Liam Ramos should bring the Trump administration to its knees…People see their own kids, people see their classmates of their children.”
  — Adrian Carrasquillo (32:49)

• On systemic trust breaking down:
  “That loss of faith that we live in a place where, like, there’s a covenant that keeps us from killing each other…we can protest, but, like, people aren’t going to get shot wantonly. And that’s what’s happening.”
  — Sarah Longwell (34:55)

• On policy deadlock and opportunity:
  “The discourse is maddening…like, the sides are abolish ICE or have them running rampant in cities and, like, murdering people. There are policy places in the middle.”
  — Sarah Longwell (29:53)

Important Timestamps

• 02:48 – Adrian’s Minneapolis reporting: fear, depression, business collapse among immigrants.
• 04:24 – Extending fear: even US citizen, long-time residents terrified.
• 09:13–14:29 – Focus group: Trump-to-Biden voters, new anti-ICE sentiment.
• 18:50–23:58 – Abolish/reform ICE? Voters cite masked agents, overreach, targeting citizens.
• 30:46–34:55 – Harrowing first-hand story: US citizen, Puerto Rican woman, and her daughters detained by ICE.
• 32:49 – The Liam Ramos case: child used to capture his father, broad public revulsion.
• 37:47–39:07 – Gen Z Trump voter: ICE “nonsense,” wants focus on employers, criticizes current tactics.
• 42:15 – Concern about what ICE/Border Patrol does when cameras are off.
• 45:18 – Democrats starting to lean in: growing willingness to confront Trump’s ICE tactics.

Flow & Tone

The episode is urgent and empathetic—Longwell and Carrasquillo are both clearly deeply affected by what they’ve witnessed and heard from voters, but maintain their commitment to factual, on-the-ground storytelling. Focus group clips reveal unexpected anguish and disillusionment, even from voters historically supportive of Republican immigration messaging. The tone balances emotional shock with analytical rigor, especially regarding how these events shape political realities.

Takeaways for Listeners

• The violence of ICE enforcement has become a flashpoint issue, breaking through to voters who are not usually plugged into policy debates.
• Even conservative and Trump-voting groups are registering disillusionment and horror—especially when children are involved or tactics seem cruel and excessive.
• Public anger is focused not just on outcomes (deaths, detentions) but on the lack of accountability, faceless and masked agents, and the sense of living in something resembling an authoritarian state.
• Policy debate is stuck between “abolish ICE” and status quo, but there is political opportunity in creative reforms and restoring moral/constitutional guardrails.
• These incidents are fundamentally shifting the political and moral conversation about immigration enforcement—potentially setting the stage for realignment within both parties.