Democrats’ dilemma: Progressive push to 'Abolish ICE' sparks fresh divide in party
Calls to abolish ICE by some progressive Democrats are sparking a new divide in the party, as center-left groups warn about a political backlash and instead urge messaging to reform...
By Fox News · Fox News
Calls to abolish ICE by some progressive Democrats are sparking a new divide in the party, as center-left groups warn about a political backlash and instead urge messaging to reform the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. "We must reform ICE. But it looks at this stage, folks, ICE is beyond reform," Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar told reporters on Wednesday. "ICE is totally out of control, and this week I intend to introduce a bill to abolish ICE." Thanedar spoke one week after a fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by an ICE agent went viral, sparking protests and a national debate over the agency's efforts to carry out President Donald Trump's push for the mass deportation of millions of undocumented migrants. Trump on Thursday warned that if Minnesota's political leaders don't stop what he argued were "professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place." TRUMP'S WARNING TO MINNESOTA AMID PROTESTS OVER ICE SHOOTING The center-left think tank The Third Way cautions Democrats to avoid calls to abolish ICE. "The impulse is emotional," reads their memo. "The slogan is simple. But politically, it is lethal. Every call to abolish ICE risks squandering one of the clearest opportunities in years to secure meaningful reform of immigration enforcement — while handing Republicans exactly the fight they want." And Adam Jentleson , president and founder of the center-left Searchlight Institute and former chief of staff for Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, took to social media to emphasize that any call to abolish ICE "is and always will be a political albatross. I don’t care if it gets a bump into positive territory given the horrific stuff we’ve seen — it’ll fall back and remain a drag." PROTESTERS CLASH WITH FEDERAL OFFICERS AFTER ANOTHER ICE SHO…