ICE Under ATTACK – Left Demands Total Elimination

U.S. flag with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement emblem

The radical left’s “Abolish ICE” movement has resurged under President Trump’s second term, revealing a dangerous push to dismantle border security while Democrats struggle to manage basic government functions.

Story Snapshot

January 2026 ICE operation in Minneapolis reignited the Abolish ICE movement after civilian deaths occurred during enforcement activities
46% of Americans now support abolishing ICE according to recent polling, showing how far-left propaganda has influenced public opinion
Progressive politicians including AOC, Warren, and Sanders advocate eliminating ICE despite the agency’s critical role in protecting American communities
The movement proposes redistributing ICE responsibilities to other agencies, ignoring decades of enforcement failures that led to ICE’s 2003 creation

Radical Democrats Demand Border Security Elimination

Progressive Democrats led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continue pushing their extremist agenda to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency responsible for protecting Americans from criminal illegal aliens and enforcing immigration law. Ocasio-Cortez made abolishing ICE central to her 2018 campaign, and following her primary victory, establishment Democrats including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Bill de Blasio quickly jumped on the bandwagon. Representatives Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal, and Adriano Espaillat even introduced the misleadingly-named “Establishing a Humane Immigration Enforcement System Act” in July 2018, proposing to dismantle the agency entirely.

Trump Administration Enforcement Triggers Leftist Backlash

President Trump’s return to the White House in 2025 brought renewed commitment to enforcing immigration law, sparking predictable outrage from open-borders activists. ICE launched Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis during January 2026, resulting in the deaths of two U.S. citizens, Renée Good and Alex Pretti. While any loss of life is tragic, the left immediately exploited these deaths to attack ICE rather than examining the circumstances or acknowledging the thousands of American lives saved through immigration enforcement. Militarized protests erupted across cities, particularly Los Angeles, as activists demanded the agency’s elimination rather than supporting reforms to protect both citizens and enforce the law.

Movement Ignores Pre-ICE Immigration Chaos

The Abolish ICE crowd conveniently forgets why Congress created the agency in 2003. Before ICE consolidated immigration enforcement, responsibilities were scattered across multiple agencies, creating inefficiency and gaps that illegal aliens and criminal organizations exploited. The agency unified customs and immigration enforcement under the Department of Homeland Security following September 11th, addressing critical national security vulnerabilities. Activists propose returning to that failed pre-2003 system, redistributing ICE functions to agencies that previously couldn’t handle the mission effectively. This backwards approach ignores common sense and the lessons learned from decades of inadequate border security and immigration enforcement.

Public Opinion Shift Reflects Misinformation Campaign

A January 2026 poll revealed that 46% of Americans now support abolishing ICE, compared to 41% who oppose it. This represents a dramatic shift driven by relentless left-wing propaganda portraying immigration enforcement as inherently cruel rather than necessary for national security and rule of law. The movement originated with a February 2017 hashtag by political commentator Sean McElwee and grew through coordinated activism by groups like Occupy ICE, Families Belong Together, and Women Disobey, which organized protests across over 700 cities. Former House Speaker Paul Ryan correctly called abolishing ICE “the craziest position I have ever seen,” but Democrats continue embracing this radical stance to satisfy their progressive base.

California Leads Sanctuary State Obstruction

California passed the Dignity Not Detention Act in October 2017, becoming the first state to restrict immigration detention contracting growth. This legislation, drafted by the activist group Freedom for Immigrants, deliberately undermines federal immigration enforcement by limiting detention capacity. The law exemplifies how Democrat-controlled states actively sabotage ICE operations, creating sanctuary zones where criminal illegal aliens evade deportation. These policies endanger American communities by protecting foreign nationals who violated immigration law rather than supporting the federal agents tasked with public safety. The movement has successfully transformed immigration enforcement from a law-and-order issue into a partisan political weapon against the Trump administration’s America First agenda.