Abolishing ICE: A slogan with several interpretations
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"Abolish ICE" is an ambiguous phrase with a contested meanings, but support for the idea is growing in polls as President Trump wages his massive immigration crackdown.
Why it matters: Like "defund the police" before it, "abolish ICE" risks turning into more of a litmus test than a practical policy plan.
State of play: ICE, created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, is central to Trump's pledge to remove undocumented immigrants, but some Americans are souring on the agency's aggressive tactics, especially after immigration officials killed a 37-year-old mother in Minneapolis.
What they're saying: "Attacks and demonization of ICE is wrong," Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Axios.
- "DHS is law enforcement agency, and it will continue to carry out immigration enforcement for the safety of Americans who have been victimized by rapists, murderers, drug traffickers, and gang members."
By the numbers: Roughly 46% of Americans currently support the broad idea of abolishing ICE, with 43% opposed, according to a new YouGov/ Economist poll this week.
- Anti-ICE protests are now more popular than the agency itself, according to another recent poll. Other polls show similar trends of late.
Here's what abolishing ICE could look like:
Restrict ICE
Most Democrats support curbing ICE's authority, which is most likely to appeal to political moderates, Axios' Andrew Solender and Stephen Neukam have previously reported. That could include:
- Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker's (D-N.J.) bill banning agents from wearing masks or balaclavas, or Sen. Chris Murphy's (D-Conn.) push to restrict agents' firearm use when conducting civil matters.
- Requiring body cameras and standardized uniforms, although agents sometimes argue they need plain clothes to prevent being identified by targets.
Defund ICE (partially)
Some Democrats appear open to rolling back ICE's funding to levels before Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill funneled billions of extra money into the agency.
- That includes swing district centrist Rep. John Mannion (D-N.Y.).
- However, some Democrats don't want to be seen as "soft on crime," as Trump has repeatedly branded them.
But Democrats could avoid that perception by rerouting the money from immigration enforcement to police investigating "actual violence and property crimes," Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, told Axios.
Context: Years of data show unauthorized immigrants actually commit crimes at lower rates than U.S. citizens.
Abolish ICE
Few lawmakers are on board with completely eliminating the agency, but some, such as Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), say eliminating ICE would make communities safer.
- "If this is happening on video in front of hundreds of people, imagine what they're doing when no one is watching," Marisa Franco, national director of immigrant rights group Mijente said, referring to the Minneapolis shooting.
Abolitionists envision:
- Viable pathways to citizenship;
- Robust refugee and immigrant reintegration programs;
- Increased investment in public housing, school and social services.
Go deeper: Why ICE agents face far less accountability than police
