Democrats Create Legislation to Abolish ICE

New legislation has been proposed by Democrats to abolish Immigrations and Custom enforcement. Abolishing ICE has been a strong message from activists and protestors for months. Recently prominent political figures such as Alexa Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan, and Kirsten Gillibrand have also been on board to end the corrupted agency.

The new bill has been created by Representative Mark Pocan and is being backed by two legislators who are immigrants themselves, Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, as well as Adriano Espaillat, a Democratic Representative of New York.

Mark Pocand stated the legislation is an attempt at a more “humane immigration enforcement system. “ Adding “The ICE brand has been so damaged by the president that it can no longer accomplish its original mission. Even ICE agents recognize that ICE doesn’t do what it was intended to.”

The legislation will abolish ICE within a year and set plans to rethink a new agency. There will be an assessment of whether the agency has broken international law as well as the essential functions of the agency and where they should be retasked. Some of these functions include combating drug smuggling, financial and cyber crimes, as well as trade fraud and human trafficking. The legislation will also amend the ways our nation will handle illegal immigrants and those seeking asylum.

It has been stressed by congress, as well the creators of the bill, that the recreation of ICE must a bipartisan effort. The plan is to create a team of 8 members that are chosen by congressional and minority party leaders and 9 members that are from “major civil society and immigrants’ rights organizations and individuals directly impacted by ICE practices.”

Although President Trump has declared that abolishing ICE will lead to “open borders” and although many on the right have adopted this fear-inducing, it is nothing more than a myth. The new legislation will not affect or change any immigration laws that already in place.

The need to abolish ICE stems from the corrupt path the agency has gone down. As Senator Kirsten Gillibrand stated “I don’t think ICE today is working as intended… I believe that it has become a deportation force, and I think you should separate the criminal justice from the immigration issues.”

The soon to be Representative from New York, Alexa Ocasio-Cortex stated “As overseen by the Trump administration, ICE operates with virtually no accountability, ripping apart families and holding our friends and neighbors indefinitely in inhumane detention centers scattered across the United States.” Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, added “Trump and his administration have made the agency so toxic that it’s time to abolish ICE, and start over.”

The agency has adopted extremely hateful practices from separating families, detaining children, to raiding churches, schools, and job sites. The agency is a far cry from its original purpose- to keep Americans safe. The agency has become the Trump administrations puppet- creating a human rights crisis and causing trauma to thousands of families.

Featured Image via Flickr, Fibonacci Blue