It’s not just leftist protesters that are demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement be abolished—now some Democratic lawmakers are too.
Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan said Monday he is introducing legislation that would get rid of ICE, arguing that “the agency can no longer accomplish its goals effectively” in the Trump administration.
“@realDonaldTrump & his team of white nationalists, including Stephen Miller, have so misused @ICEgov that the agency can no longer accomplish its goals effectively. I’m introducing a bill to #AbolishICE & crack down on the agency’s blanket directive to target & round up people,” he tweeted.
.@realDonaldTrump & his team of white nationalists, including Stephen Miller, have so misused @ICEgov that the agency can no longer accomplish its goals effectively. I’m introducing a bill to #AbolishICE & crack down on the agency’s blanket directive to target & round up people. pic.twitter.com/xhHsOHCdNH
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) June 25, 2018
In a statement, Pocan explained his reasoning further, saying he was influenced by what he saw when visiting the border.
“During my trip to the southern border, it was clear that ICE, and its actions of hunting down and tearing apart families, has wreaked havoc on far too many people. From conducting raids at garden centers and meatpacking plants, to breaking up families at churches and schools, ICE is tearing apart families and ripping at the moral fabric of our nation," he said.
The congressman’s legislation would also offer recommendations to Congress on creating a more “humane immigration enforcement system.”
Pocan isn’t the only Democratic lawmaker to call for abolishing ICE.
Reps. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) and Jim McGovern (Mass.) have all expressed similar sentiments.