Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., on Thursday introduced legislation aimed at eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement, arguing that "Americans are being terrorized" and that the agency is "beyond reform."
"Since ICE's establishment in 2003, they've prioritized aggressive enforcement and violence rather than due process," Thanedar said in a statement. "Americans are being terrorized. Last year, I introduced legislation to end qualified immunity for ICE agents, ensuring they are held accountable when they break the law.
"But the killing of Renee Nicole Good proved that ICE is out of control and beyond reform. We must fundamentally change the way we approach immigration: it's time to abolish ICE."
Thanedar was referring to the shooting death of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE officer last week as she struck him with the vehicle she was driving.
At a news conference Wednesday, Thanedar also called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be impeached, claiming she "lied to my Homeland Security Committee. She has misused taxpayer funds, and now leading an agency, leading ICE, that is committing crimes across America."
"We need to make ICE go away," Thanedar said. "Before 2003, without ICE, various federal agencies were able to take care of business. And we can do this without ICE. But we do not need the murderers. We do not need this paramilitary organization, members on our street terrorizing U.S. citizens, terrorizing moms, terrorizing our children."
Tensions have escalated in Minneapolis in the past week between protesters and federal law enforcement following Good's death on Jan. 7. On Wednesday night, a federal officer shot an illegal alien in the leg after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle while attempting to make an arrest.
Under Thanedar's bill, ICE would be abolished 90 days after enactment, with its functions and assets potentially transferred to the Department of Homeland Security or other entities.
The legislation would also rescind funding for ICE's duties and eliminate the agency's authority to enforce immigration laws once the abolition timeline is complete.
"ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Newsmax.
"ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens."
ICE was created under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and began operations in 2003. Before that, immigration enforcement and benefits were handled by the Immigration and Naturalization Service within the Department of Justice.
The Bush administration argued that housing enforcement and immigration benefits within a single agency created conflicts and inefficiencies. As a result, INS was dismantled and its responsibilities divided among ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, all within DHS.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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