Democratic Candidates Campaign to Abolish ICE Before Midterms

Several Democratic political figures, including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Michigan Senate contender Abdul El-Sayed, are campaigning to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. The movement follows reports of power abuses and misconduct during Donald Trump's second term, specifically citing the deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Johan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine.

Proponents of the movement, including writer Victoria Hugo-Vidal and analyst Ethan Fauré, argue that the agency is irreparably damaged or redundant, suggesting that local sheriffs and police departments already perform similar functions. A March YouGov survey indicated that 50% of U.S. adults support the abolition of the agency.

However, Democratic insiders and critics warn that calling for the agency's dissolution without a concrete substitute blueprint for immigration enforcement is a political miscalculation. Operative Neera Tanden and others suggest this creates a vulnerability that Republicans may exploit by accusing Democrats of opposing the deportation of violent criminals, particularly in swing states such as Florida, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, and Alaska.