Posted on 01/24/2026 3:56:24 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
As progressives push to disband the agency, centrists are warning Democrats risk similar blowback to the ‘defund the police’ movement
Progressive Peggy Flanagan advocates for a complete overhaul of ICE, while centrist Angie Craig warns against alienating independent voters.
Peggy Flanagan, the progressive pick in the race for Minnesota senator, says the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is beyond fixing. Her opponent in the Democratic primary, centrist Angie Craig, isn’t so sure.
“We need a system to enforce immigration laws in this country, but ICE has completely lost the trust of the American people, and they continue to act in ways that are illegal and unconstitutional,” Flanagan, the state’s lieutenant governor, said in an interview. “We need to completely overhaul this agency and start over.”
Craig, a Minnesota congresswoman who represents a swing district, said she’s opposed to Trump’s “version of ICE,” but warned that Democrats risk going too far in their response and could alienate independent voters.
“We have to improve the way that people see us in terms of our ability to keep our community safe,” she said of her party. “Most Minnesotans and most Americans want secure borders, and they want violent criminals off our streets, but they don’t want to see families ripped apart.”
President Trump’s aggressive deployment of immigration authorities to blue cities—and more recently the shooting in Minneapolis of a U.S. citizen—has thrust Democrats across the country into a familiar debate over how to push back without being perceived as the anti-law-and-order party. Debates over the “defund the police” movement previously mired Democrats in a bruising intraparty fight that hurt them in recent elections.
Democrats see a clear path to take back the House of Representatives in November. They also could win the majority in the Senate, though that is expected to be much more...
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
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Women tend to think ICE confrontations with criminal aliens are sort of unhappy to look at and kind of harsh looking./S
I guess they hope for illegal criminals to die of old age on their own rather than intervention by law enforcement. Less messy.
Google search summary today.
“Views are highly polarized, with 77-89% of Republicans approving of ICE’s performance, while 64-89% of independents and a vast majority of Democrats disapprove.”
“A January 2026 The New York Times poll found 63% of voters disapprove of how ICE is handling its job, while only 36% approve. Similarly, a Quinnipiac University Poll in January 2026 showed 57% disapproval.
Tactics and Raids: 61% of voters believe ICE has “gone too far” in their tactics. A 2025 Pew Research Center survey indicated that 54% of the public disapproved of increasing ICE workplace raids.”
Says who? Not me or the people I know.
The Democrats don’t have any problem lying about everything. They’re brazenly trying to appear centrist as usual the closer we get to the election - “We’re not against ICE, just Trump’s version of it”, as if “Trump’s version” of ICE is somehow different from what it’s been since its inception. The only thing different is the Democrat mob’s violent obstruction of ICE’s legitimate law enforcement function and their ratcheting up of insurrectionary violence that’s rapidly becoming open civil war as the action in Minneapolis turns into a deep freeze Battle of Bull Run 2.0.
Only criminals would want to abolish ICE
Make Crime Great Again
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” --George Orwell
“The Democrats Have an ‘Abolish ICE’ Conundrum”
You know, in a really tiny but true way, so do the republicans.
I said here at FR many months ago that Democrats would be more likely to be interested in abolishing a government agency than would congressional Republicans. It was admittedly flippant but here we are. And I was thinking it well in advance of actually saying it.
Democrats: 1
Republicans: 0
It disgusts me but at the end of the day I can’t help but admire it and wish we had someone fighting to abolish government agencies that mistreat conservatives or mistreat the constitution.
And its still worth saying. The Department of Education was a presidential election promise. Not kept.
Conservatives recognized the threat posed by ICE when it was first proposed by GW Bush. They were correct about their concerns, and ICE has evolved into a far bigger threat to liberty than any other federal law enforcement agency.
It’s time to return to accountability, and time to return ICE to the place it was before consolidation.
Trump won’t be president for too many more years, and if ICE can be deployed by him against Blue states, there’s no reason to believe ICE can’t and won’t be deployed to Red states as well.
“but ICE has completely lost the trust of the American people...
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” —George Orwell”
____________________________________________________________
Orwell is in play these days, but not in the way you seem to think.
Because you are so much smarter than everyone else, Mr. Dunning-Krueger.
Indeed, didn’t they call for the abolishment of Police during their insurgency of 2020 “Summer of Love” and almost succeed?
Cities like Minneapolis and Portland have understaffed and neutered police presence.
Ultimately, the push to disband ICE is seen as a potential political liability that could harm the Democratic party, rather than achieving meaningful reform.
Some Democrats advocate for abolishing ICE, but the push is not universally supported within the party and risks significant political blowback similar to “defund the police”.
Many Democrats prefer reforming over eliminating it, fearing that such rhetoric acts as a political distraction and hurts the party, say The New York Times.
Internal Divisions: Although some, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, have supported dismantling ICE, many other Democrats, including more moderate members, favor focusing on reforming the agency rather than eliminating it.
Political Blowback Similar to “Defund the Police”: Some Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Ruben Gallego, have warned that the “Abolish ICE” slogan could echo the negative political consequences of the “Defund the Police” movement, which was widely criticized and did not effectively communicate desired reforms, notes The New York Times.
Moderate vs. Progressive Approaches: While progressives often push for abolishing the agency, others argue for a more pragmatic approach, focusing on limiting specific, aggressive, or illegal tactics by the agency.
Public Perception: Polls indicate that the general American public does not strongly support the idea of abolishing ICE.
Recent Developments: In 2026, some House Democrats have broken with leadership to support funding for the Department of Homeland Security without significant ICE reforms, indicating a complex, fractured approach to the issue within the party, says YouTube and Politico.
The jurisdictionets that don’t want law enforcement, well, guess what give t⁶hem what want — good and hard. Tell them thusly: as of today the police will not respond to calls in tour area; neither will EMS or the fire department. You people are on your own. You can hunt and kill each other all you like but the minute you take your nonsense to another state or city you will be summarily executed.
“...Only criminals would want to abolish ICE...”
And communists....the country is full of em...
They wont respond?
Tell them as of today the police will not respond to
calls in tour area; neither will EMS or the fire dept.
funny how 95% of the people protesting are crazy white women
“Because you are so much smarter than everyone else, Mr. Dunning-Krueger.”
___________________________________________________________
Not at all, but I certainly struggled with Imposter Syndrome in my younger years.
Now, if you’re done with your 4th-grade taunts, do you have other thoughts?
“Peggy Flanagan, the progressive pick”
“progressive” - circumlocution for “extreme leftist.”
ICE is just a new version of the INS…it is the immigration agency for the US. Getting rid of it means you want open borders. Who arrests foreign alien criminals?
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