‘Abolish ICE’ has energized progressives

Activists in New York call for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on July 4. Enforcement or ICE – which was formed in 2003 in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks – needs to be done away with to prevent abuses of undocumented immigrants. Attention on the idea grew over the last month amid a barrage of news stories about migrant children removed from their families.

Hill and the other Democrats running in closely-watched Republican-held districts up and down California denounced the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, including the “zero-tolerance” policy that separated more than 2,300 children from their parents. Several called for reforms to how the agency enforces immigration rules.

But they contend that doing away with ICE wouldn’t stop the hard-line policies put in place by President Donald Trump.

“ICE is a scapegoat for what the president is doing from the very top of government,” said Ammar Campa-najjar, a Democrat running against Rep. Duncan Hunter in a heavily Republican San Diego-area district. Even if ICE is abolished, he said, “Trump could come up with a different acronym for a different agency, and it would still have the same problems.”

Others criticized Trump while praising rank-and-file agents. Central Valley Democrat TJ Cox, who’s running against Rep. David Valadao, said that “the hardworking and honorable men and women that work for ICE are put in a very untenable position” because of the administration’s directives.

Several polls have found that most Americans oppose abolishing ICE. Hill, who is running against Rep. Steve Knight, said that a debate over the proposal “isn’t healthy” for the Democratic Party, and “gives ammo straight into the hands of Republicans.”