The Congressional Hispanic Caucus formally announced its opposition to legislation that would abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, dissolving its duties into other departments.
The Democrats-only Hispanic Caucus issued a statement late Thursday night after House Republican leadership said it plans to bring the bill to floor — a political move to put Democrats on the record ahead of the November elections.
“Simply terminating ICE fails to address President Trump’s underlying cruel immigration policies and priorities that target families and children,” Hispanic Caucus Chair Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., said in a statement. “Any federal agency charged with conducting immigration enforcement, regardless of their name or place on an organizational chart, will continue to implement Trump’s depraved immigration priorities.”
The midterm elections will determine who controls the House, and currently Democrats maintain an advantage. As the Democratic base and some 2020 hopefuls have rallied behind the idea of abolishing immigration enforcement, the GOP has jumped to use it against Democrats. The White House sent out fundraising emails urging voters to “save” ICE.
Many House Democrats view the vote as a trap, and many have vowed to vote against it when it reaches the floor. But the party is truly divided on the issue of immigration enforcement. The bill to abolish ICE was proposed Thursday by three progressive Democrats and six co-sponsors. It would “terminate the agency within one year” of the bill’s passing into law, and set up a commission to find an alternative. Democratic leaders and moderates are opposed to the bill, even as the progressive base has spread the #abolishICE hashtag and taken up the idea in various protests.
“ICE’s focus on separating families undermines national and border security by diverting resources from its necessary and legitimate responsibilities to combat human traffickers, cybercrimes, child exploitation, money launderers, and terrorist threats,” Lujan Grisham said.
