MINNEAPOLIS — Calls to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are surging again after an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, reopening one of the Democratic Party’s most volatile internal debates just months before a high-stakes election year.
“Dismantling ICE is the moderate position,” said Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner after the shooting, according to the report. “If Trump’s ICE is shooting and kidnapping people, then abolish it,” wrote New York congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg.
Even Bill Kristol, the longtime conservative turned Trump critic, posted a blunt message, the report said. “Abolish ICE.”
Since Good’s killing, calls to dismantle Immigration and Customs Enforcement have surged nationwide. The renewed slogan has reopened one of the Democratic Party’s most volatile internal fights.
The article detailed how videos from Minneapolis spread rapidly after the shooting. “They’re tear-gassing families,” one protester told reporters.
“They shoved a protester into traffic,” another witness claimed. “Whole neighborhoods filled with gas.”
The Washington Post reported that a Texas medical examiner is likely to classify a recent ICE detainee death as a homicide. “This is not isolated,” one civil rights attorney said. “It’s a pattern.”
The data within the article provided quantitative polling to show that the backlash is growing fast. “Fifty-seven percent disapprove of how ICE is handling enforcement,” one survey found.
“About half say ICE is making cities less safe,” another poll showed. “Support for abolishing ICE jumped 13 points since 2019.”
However, the Department of Homeland Security rejected the criticism. “ICE will continue to carry out immigration enforcement for the safety of Americans,” said spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
“I used to believe we could reform ICE,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat. “Now I believe it has to be dismantled as an entity; it’s gone too far.”
The report continues into Michigan Rep. Shri Thanedar’s introduction of the Abolish ICE Act, even though the representative had once praised the agency. “Things have changed,” an aide said.
“I made this call back in 2018,” said Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. “Trump is trying to create an independent source of state power answerable only to him.”
“By now,” El-Sayed added, “ICE is corrupted beyond repair.”
“No training can fix this,” one ally said.
The article proclaims that progressive groups are escalating pressure ahead of the 2026 primaries. “Abolition is the baseline,” said Justice Democrats communications director Usamah Andrabi.
“People are demanding it,” Andrabi added. “And we’re listening.”
By contrast, centrist Democrats are alarmed by the language. “Unless you truly believe the U.S. should not have an immigration agency,” warned a memo from the Searchlight Institute, “you should not say you want to abolish ICE.”
“When you say ‘abolish ICE,’ you’re abolishing the agency that enforces immigration law,” said Tré Easton of Searchlight. “That’s really, really fraught.”
“This feels exactly like ‘defund the police,’” said Lanae Erickson. “The question is not whether ICE should exist, but whether it follows the law.”
Some lawmakers are choosing a different message. “ICE is out of control,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego.
The report showed how Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shifted the focus to funding. “The cuts to your health care are paying for this,” she said.
“You get screwed over to pay a bunch of thugs in the street,” Ocasio-Cortez added, “that are shooting mothers in the face.”
“That’s effective messaging,” wrote Searchlight President Adam Jentleson. “Without saying ‘abolish ICE.’”
The article described how Republicans are already seizing the moment. “Democrats don’t want our border secured,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“They want to defund federal law enforcement,” she added, the article said. “That’s dangerous.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise echoed that attack. “They’ve been for open borders for years,” he said.
Strategists remember how this ended before. “Mandela Barnes lost after ‘abolish ICE’ resurfaced,” one Democratic adviser recalled, according to the report.
“Republicans spent $741 million on immigration ads in 2024,” another strategist noted. “They’ll do it again.”
None of the leading 2028 Democratic contenders has called to dismantle ICE, the report said. “Reform, not abolition,” one campaign aide told the article.
But protests are spreading as federal operations expand. “There will be more videos,” one organizer predicted. “More outrage.”
The article concludes with Democrats facing a familiar question. “Do we say what the base wants,” one strategist asked, “or what helps us win?”
“How they answer,” another adviser warned, the report said, “may decide November.”
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