A handful of high-profile Democrats in the Senate and House had previously supported the notion of abolition Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – The agency is tasked with enforcing immigration laws in communities and at the border.
Despite their previous calls to dismantle ICE, there has been little resistance or counterargument from Democrats regarding ICE enforcement. President Biden As the border crisis continues to wreak havoc on American citizens, cities and communities.
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts – two Democrats who sought their party’s nomination for president in 2020 – are prominent leaders who have called for abolishing ICE entirely, or breaking it up, during former President Donald Trump’s tenure. Had led the call for. white House.
Many Democrats called for the abolition of ICE during Trump’s tenure in the White House. (Getty Images)
In 2018, during an appearance on CNN, Gillibrand said: “I don’t think ICE is functioning as intended today… I believe it has become a deportation force, and I think That you should separate criminal justice from immigration problems.”
He said at the time, “I think you should re-imagine ICE under a new agency with a very different mission and take those two missions out.” “We believe we should be protecting the families that need our help and ICE is not doing that today, and that’s why I believe you should get rid of it, start over, its Must reimagine and create something that actually works.”
Warren had also raised the issue with the agency by writing an article in 2018. facebook post In June 2018: “(Trump’s) extremely immoral actions have made it clear that we need to rebuild our immigration system from top to bottom, starting with replacing ICE with something that reflects our values.” yes.”
Although he did not directly call for abolishing ICE, the 2019 plan released by Vermont senator bernie sandersAn independent who sided with the Democrats and is seeking the party’s nomination for president in 2016 and 2020, his causes include breaking up ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Deportation and enforcement will return Department of JusticeCustoms matters fall to the Treasury, and naturalization and citizenship fall to the State Department under Sanders’ proposal.
The 2019 plan released by Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., included breaking up ICE and CBP. ((AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin, File))
many house democrat Also called for ICE to be “abolished” under Trump and expressed his support for “abolishing” the agency.
House Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., introduced Legislation In 2018 this led to calls for ICE to be “abolished” and the establishment of a commission “tasked with establishing a humane immigration enforcement system.” It never got a vote in the House.
Caught on camera: Feds bust migrants cutting fences
Pocan’s bill was co-sponsored by seven other Democrats who remain in Congress, including Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Adriano Espaillat of New York, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, Adam Smith of Washington, Nydia Velazquez of New York and Yvette Clarke of New York.
“From raiding garden centers and meatpacking plants, to breaking up families in churches and schools, ICE is tearing apart families and destroying the moral fabric of our country…the agency can now effectively pursue its goals.” “Pocken said at the time.
“I’m introducing legislation that would dismantle ICE and ban the agency’s blanket directive to target and round up individuals and families,” he said.
Speaking about the effort in July 2018, Jayapal said in a statement: “Our immigration laws were enforced before ICE was created, and will continue to be so after ICE is gone as an agency. As This is the situation, ICE is out of control.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said of ICE in 2018, “We should dismantle the agency as it stands and start restructuring its operations from scratch.” (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The effort was also heavily supported by Espaillat, who then said that lawmakers were “pushing to dismantle ICE because the agency has strayed too far from its original mission, intent, and purpose.”
“We are witnessing a human rights crisis and our bill would bring forth a new model and dismantle ICE forever,” he said.
By connecting with your colleagues, Velazquez also said Then “It’s time to abolish ICE.”
blumenauer too called for an end He slammed the agency in 2018, saying that the Trump administration “has made the agency so toxic that it’s time to dismantle ICE and start over.”
The Oregon lawmaker’s office noted in a press release at the time that he was “one of the first members of Congress to call for the abolition of ICE” and that he had voted against the creation of ICE.
Like Blumenauer, McGovern also voted against the formation of ICE. one in 2018 comment“It’s time to dismantle ICE,” the Massachusetts congressman said.
“We need to start a fresh conversation,” he said at the time.
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Although she was not sworn in as a member of Congress until January 2019, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. has also called for the abolition of ICE and even suggested she would like to abolish it Department of Homeland SecurityWhich oversees the agency.
The congresswoman’s comments came in a July 2019 discussion with David Remnick of The New Yorker Radio Hour about the possibility of reforming or abolishing ICE.
“Will you get rid of Homeland Security too?” Remnick asked.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Has called for the abolition of ICE and suggested she would move to dismantle DHS, which oversees the agency. (Tom Williams/Getty Images)
“I think so, I think so. I think we need to correct a lot of the serious mistakes made by the Bush administration. I think we’re in a very qualified and supported position, at least on the evidence.” In the context of, and in the context of being able to argue, that we should never have created DHS in the early 2000s,” Ocasio-Cortez responded at the time.
Ocasio-Cortez renewed her call to abolish ICE in January 2021, writing post on social media“Abolish ICE.”
in 2022 New York lawmaker sells “Abolish ICE” T-shirts, posters and magnets at its official team store featured an ice cooler with the word “elimination” spray-painted in red over the word “ice”. However, today, the only item available in her online store appears to be a hat with the words “Abolish ICE.”
In an effort to understand where they now stand on the issue, Fox News Digital contacted every Democrat mentioned in this article who has called for defunding, breaking up or abolishing ICE. None of them replied.
ICE was established in 2003 as a component agency of DHS following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
ICE was formed With the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the responsibilities of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, as well as the U.S. Customs Service, which were previously under the control of the Treasury Department, were absorbed.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seal. (Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images)
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The agency is currently led by Acting Director Patrick J. Lechleitner are doing American law enforcement officer Who has worked in this role since July 2023.
CBP records show there were a total of 1,340,801 encounters in the first six months of fiscal year 2024, which is more than the first six months of fiscal year 2023, which recorded a total of 1,226,254 encounters.
