2020 Dems divided on whether to abolish ICE

By Peter Hasson

Potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are divided over whether to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is charged with enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.

Three potential 2020 candidates have already come out in favor of abolishing ICE: Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Other Democrats have taken a more cautious approach.

Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker dodged on Monday when asked about abolishing ICE. “What do you say to people, including the president, who say that [abolishing ICE] is absolutely crazy?” the senator was asked in a Fox5 interview.

“Well, what’s crazy is the administration having policies that even Republicans criticize, not just separating families, abolishing [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] and making ‘Dreamers’ who only know this country insecure. We’ve seen in New Jersey, parents who have been in this country 20 years ripped away from their children and deported who pose no threat to our communities whatsoever,” Booker said, declining to say whether ICE should remain as an agency.

“We need to have a strategy and a plan. By the way, I don’t care what you call it, if this administration is running the show, they’re going to be doing things that violate our values. We need to have a comprehensive immigration reform plan — forget the different tactical parts of it — but that supports our values, affirms who we are [and] keeps us safe,” Booker said.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on June 24 enraged some liberal journalists when he declined to call for ICE’s abolition. Like Booker, Sanders dodged the question, calling instead for “policies which deal with immigration in a rational way.” Sanders is technically an Independent but caucuses with the Democrats and ran for president as a Democrat in 2016.

Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris has also tried to walk a fine line when discussing ICE. Harris sparked a backlash in March when she said that ICE should “certainly” exist.

In the four months since then, Harris’ party has moved further to the left and the California senator has modified her answer. Harris called for changes to ICE  on June 25 but again declined to say the agency should be scrapped altogether.

“I think there’s no question that we’ve got to critically re-examine ICE and its role and the way that it is being administered and the work it is doing,” she said on MSNBC. “And we need to probably think about starting from scratch.”

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Image courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Public domain

4 thoughts on “2020 Dems divided on whether to abolish ICE

  1. In 2016,
    – Blacks represented 12% of the U.S. adult population but 33% of the sentenced prisoners.
    – Whites 64% of adults, but 30% of prisoners.
    – Hispanics 16% of adults, but 23% of prisoners.

    Another way of considering racial and ethnic differences in the nation’s prison population is by looking at the imprisonment rate, which tallies the number of prisoners per 100,000 people.

    In 2016,
    – Black prisoners: 1608 for every 100,000 black adults – more than five times the imprisonment rate for – Whites: 274 per 100,000
    – Hispanics: 856 per 100,000

    Bring in more Hispanics to fill US prisons at $50,000/prisoner/year?

    http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/12/shrinking-gap-between-number-of-blacks-and-whites-in-prison/

  2. Senator Leahy claims to have deep concerns the ICE has been tasked by the Trump administration to further its discriminatory, anti-immigrant agenda.

    Leahy wants to shut down ICE, because it interferes with the Dem/Prog pro-illegal immigrant agenda. Is he nuts? Ready to retire?

    Many ILLEGAL immigrants have domestic violence/dispute issues, criminal issues, gangster issues, human trafficking issues, etc.

    Their victims are finally courageous enough to report them; about 90,000 will get reported to the ICE tip line in 2018. There are many more such illegal folks in the US who do not get reported.

    Lax immigration laws, supported by Dems/Progs allowed those illegal folks to enter and stay in the US under the do-gooder, vote-getting “catch and release” program.

    Eliminating such antisocial, illegal folks from US society is a blessing and makes US society healthier, and should be supported by VT politicians.

    Instead, Dem/Progs have passed laws that have hamstrung VT local and state police departments regarding illegal immigration enforcement issues.

    Do Dem/Progs really think the US is strengthened/made more competitive by admitting semi-literate illegals, with no/little skills and no/little assets?

    They are claiming asylum after paying human trafficker organizations and crossing several border to get to the US.

    They should, per international convention, apply for asylum after crossing the first border!!!

  3. Liberal Democrats and there save all rhetoric, they have had plenty of time to deal with
    all the ” Illegal Immigration ” concerns but turned a blind eye.

    Now that the Trump Administration is upholding the law of the land and rounding up any
    and all ” Illegals ” and deporting them, Democrats / Liberal / Progressives are crying foul
    If you break the Law, well you get what you get !!

    Legal Immigrants should be appalled as they followed the rules paid and waited and then
    watch these lawbreakers sneak in and complain !!

    Then all the ” BS ” on the separation of Kids from there Parents what a crook, when these
    kids are in the US Detention Centers they have never had it so good !! Three meals, a bed
    personal facilities ( toilet ) …………….

    Any parent that would travel with Kids under those conditions ( Traffickers ) really don’t care
    a lick ………… break the law and go the US they’ll support you if you make it !!

    Now that Mexico has a new President ” Obrador ” Let’s see what he does for his people to
    help them stay and prosper in there Great Country, as we know they always have a need for
    Human & Drug Traffickers

    Instead of heading to the US, head to ” Cancun ” less travel and better conditions.

  4. Bernie: “policies which deal with immigration in a rational way” – Now he comes up with that idea? How about the eight years of Obama, Bernie? Did you suggest he handle it rationally instead of flooding illegals into the U.S.? You’re a little slow on the uptake there, Bernie. Effective border control. Every country has it. Check the Mexican immigration laws. Or how about adopting their immigration laws? The expletive deleted dictators of these hell holes will never get overthrown if everyone who suffers under them can just take advantage of another country. Hell, we just barely avoided going down that path ourselves! Maybe we should seek out and support rational free-market conservative organizations in some of the third world disasters. We have no qualms about interfering in other countries’ elections – Obama kept doing it, didn’t he? Remember Qaddafi (Or did Hillary do that)? That’s Some Interference!

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