Democrats have edged closer to vowing to end Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
At its summer meeting in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 13, the Democratic National Committee’s Resolutions Committee approved a resolution that calls for the abolition of ICE, an agency at the center of the Trump administration’s immigration law enforcement effort.
It could be approved by the full DNC as Democrats mull their message ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The resolution, which passed 25 to 12, was introduced by Michele Johnson, a DNC committeewoman from Louisiana.
In 2024, the website of the New Orleans Democratic Socialists of America described Johnson as a member of its chapter.
“The DNC urges Democratic members of Congress to craft legislation abolishing ICE and enacting immigration reform that provides pathways to citizenship, protects workers, and ensures dignity for all impacted people,” the resolution reads in part.
The resolution cited the deaths of ICE detainees and allegations of poor conditions at detention facilities.
An amendment from Idaho’s Terri Pickens that would have changed the word “abolishing” to “completely restructuring” was withdrawn.
At the meeting, Johnson said she wanted to go beyond merely calling for reforms.
She said “abolition may feel intimidating or radical,” but the death of anti-ICE protester Renee Good in a Minneapolis confrontation with ICE agents and other incidents, as well as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s call for 3,000 arrests per day, helped motivate her desire to eliminate the agency altogether.
“No amount of tinkering at the edges will make the culture change,” she said, alleging that the agency “treats all individuals with my skin color and darker like criminals.”
The resolution touched off a spirited debate among the Democrats present, with some urging reform rather than abolishment.
Marge Hoffa, the DNC’s Midwestern regional vice chair, noted that the DNC previously passed resolutions advocating ICE reforms, including during the same meeting, that fell short of pushing to abolish the agency.
That reform resolution came from the DNC’s current chairman, Ken Martin, who, like Hoffa, is from Minnesota.
“We shouldn’t contradict ourselves by also introducing a resolution that would now call to abolish something that we have [a] well-established track record of calling to be drastically reformed,” Hoffa said.
Ada Briceño, a Californian, voiced support for the resolution, noting that her family and friends included people illegally present in the United States.
“I don’t trust this organization, this ICE, with my life, or anybody else’s life,” she said.
Texas’s Jeff Strater said he backed the resolution without amendments.
“I am fully aware that this body has passed resolutions reforming ICE—I voted for them—but I’m also here today to vote in alignment with my state Democratic Party,” he said.
Natalie Baldassarre, the national press secretary for the Republican National Committee, criticized the resolution.
“If Democrats had any backbone they'd vote down this dangerous proposal and put American citizens first,” she said in a statement, adding that ICE under President Donald Trump has mostly targeted alleged or convicted criminals.
