By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - A public backlash against violent confrontations involving federal immigration agents has U.S. Democrats pushing for new controls on their activities, but with little buy-in so far from Republicans who control Congress.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents in the latest poll – 65% – feel ICE has gone too far in enforcing immigration laws, a jump from 54% last June, when the Trump administration began enhanced enforcement efforts in Los Angeles. That's driven largely by Democrats and independents, but a growing share of Republicans say the same.

As immigration sweeps expand nationwide, the work of justifying detentions is overwhelming federal prosecutors, who are being forced to sideline a range of other cases in order to keep pace.

“I learned that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough,” Trump told NBC News.

With eight days until a deadline to keep the Department of Homeland Security running, bipartisan talks on reining in federal immigration agents’ tactics appeared to sputter before they had even gotten underway.

Federal judge bars DHS from carrying out warrantless immigration arrests in Oregon without individualized assessments of flight risk.

A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds a jump in disapproval of the agency among Democrats and independents, but Republicans are standing by ICE and the president.

Two deaths, nationwide protests and falling approval ratings have turned a sanctuary city standoff into a potential political reckoning.