Pressley calls for defunding ICE
Ayanna Pressley wants to pull all funding for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency because she says it is creating a “toxic fear” among immigrant communities.
The city councilor and congressional candidate said ICE is part of an immigration system that is “fundamentally broken.”
“ICE’s role in supporting the existing system — including separating families seeking refuge in the United States and conducting indiscriminate deportation raids in our communities — is creating an atmosphere of toxic fear and mistrust in immigrant communities,” Pressley said yesterday in a statement.
“I believe we need to pursue comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants living in the United States,” she added, “but in the short term we must remove the existential threat facing immigrant communities by defunding ICE and eliminating its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) functions.”
Pressley faces U.S. Rep Michael E. Capuano in her quest for a seat in the 7th District, which includes Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Milton, Randolph and Somerville.
Pressley said reports of widespread violence in ICE detention facilities as another reason for wanting to pull the funds for the agency.
Pressley plans to visit the South Bay House of Correction in Boston tomorrow. That jail has a contract with ICE to serve as a detention center for immigrants targeted for deportation.