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Abolish ICE is apolitical movement seeking the abolition of theU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).[1] The movement gained mainstream traction in June 2018 after the controversy of theTrump administration family separation policy. The movement proposes that ICE's responsibilities be subsumed by other existing immigration agencies, as was the case before the agency's creation. Discussions particularly focus on the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) department of ICE. The movement gained renewed attention duringDonald Trump'ssecond term as a result ofhis administration's immigration policies, as well as the January 2026 killings of US citizensRenée Good andAlex Pretti during ICE'sOperation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement was created in 2003 as part of the newly formedU.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The agency's age has been a point of discussion, with proponents of Abolish ICE arguing that the United States can easily do without an agency that has existed for less than 20 years.[2][3] Though the agency controversially expanded underBarack Obama, frustrating immigrants' rights advocates,[4] its stated focus remained the deportation ofundocumented immigrants who were convicted of a crime.[5] In practice, however, ICE had been seen to target people solely for having entered the country illegally.[6]
In 2014, theNational Immigration Law Center (NILC) sued ICE and DHS under theFreedom of Information Act (FOIA).[7] The NILC obtained documents that revealed the sharing of information between ICE/DHS and State Motor Vehicle Departments for the purpose of immigration enforcement.[8] After Trump took office in January 2017, his administration began to implement harsher immigration policies, such as denyingasylum torefugees[9] andseparating undocumented children from their families, which spurred the growth of the movement.[10]Sean McElwee, co-founder ofleft-wing think tankData for Progress (DFP), is credited with popularizing the slogan via the hashtag #AbolishICE.[4][11] According toThe Hill, "the hashtag eventually caught on in far-left Twitter circles in memes, with Twitter users incorporating 'Abolish ICE' into their display names and in other ways."[4]
In August 2017, a series of protests against the agency took place inOakland, California. However, a group of Oakland police escorted ICE and DHS agents to the site of a search, sparking controversy and protests over the sanctuary policy breach. ICE later said it was serving a federal search warrant for suspected child trafficking, not conducting a deportation.[12] Conservatives criticized the protesters for interfering with the investigation.[13]
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Controversy over theTrump administration family separation policy in 2018 brought the movement into the mainstream of political discussion.Dan Canon, aDemocratic candidate for Congress in Indiana, was the first candidate to call for ICE to be eliminated;[14] Randy Bryce, a Democratic congressional candidate in Wisconsin, followed soon after in April.[4] Bryce's opponent,Paul Ryan, who was then theSpeaker of the House of Representatives, said that abolishing ICE was "the craziest position I have ever seen."[15] On June 20, at the height of the family separation controversy, protestors approachedSecretary of Homeland SecurityKirstjen Nielsen at a restaurant, chanting "Abolish ICE."[16]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, ademocratic socialist and Democratic primary challenger to RepresentativeJoseph Crowley, made abolishing ICE one of her top campaign issues.[17] In the wake of her unexpected victory in June 2018, the position became more widely accepted by progressive politicians, including US SenatorsElizabeth Warren andBernie Sanders.[18][19] The change was particularly strong in Ocasio-Cortez's state of New York, where SenatorKirsten Gillibrand and New York City mayorBill de Blasio quickly embraced the abolition of ICE after the win.[20]
In June 2018, Wisconsin congressmanMark Pocan announced that he would introduce legislation to dismantle ICE and establish a commission to determine how the government "can implement a humane immigration enforcement system,"[21] after visiting theMexico–United States border and witnessing "the nation's immigration crisis."[22] Pocan was joined byPramila Jayapal of Washington andAdriano Espaillat of New York in introducing the bill, the Establishing a Humane Immigration Enforcement System Act, in July 2018.[15]
Nineteen ICE agents wrote Secretary Nielsen a letter asking for ICE to be split into two separate agencies because they believed the institution inhibited their ability to do their job.[23] Their proposal would separate the enforcement and removal unit, which is the subject of almost all of the controversy, from the investigations unit that focuses on issues such as fraud, human trafficking, gangs, and drug rings. They believe thatsanctuary jurisdictions would be more likely to work with the investigative unit if it were separate.[24]
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Several protests, rallies, and marches—includingOccupy ICE,Families Belong Together, andWomen Disobey—called for the abolition of ICE anddecarceration of undocumented immigrants.[25] These rallies took place over several months in over 700 US cities and around the world.[26][27] Protests calling for the abolition of ICE have erupted again under Trump's second presidency.
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Under the second Trump Administration, calls to abolish ICE have increased significantly. A growing number of groups and many Democratic politicians have called for its abolition. Notable people who have called for ICE to be abolished include Senate candidateGraham Platner, RepresentativeAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Congressional candidateCameron Kasky.[28] Public support for abolishing the agency increased significantly in 2025 and 2026. ACiviqs poll found that in August 2024, support for abolishing ICE was just 20%, with 66% opposed. After the2024 U.S. elections andsecond inauguration of Donald Trump, support rapidly increased. As of January 2026, 46% support abolishing ICE, while 43% oppose abolition.[29]
Support for ICE's tactics and overall operations has also significantly decreased. A January 2026YouGov poll conducted hours before thekilling of Renée Good found that 52% of Americans disapproved of ICE and 39% approved. A majority of Americans also believe ICE's tactics are too forceful, with just 10% saying tactics are not forceful enough. 44% of Americans supported protests against ICE, with 42% opposed.[30][31][32] In response to militarized ICE raids shortly after the beginning of Trump's second presidency, protests against mass deportations followed in June 2025, especially in Los Angeles, moving it "from activist circles to mainstream political debate."[33][34]
Trump has accused Democrats of advocating for the abolition of ICE, saying that if "you get rid of ICE, you're going to have a country that you're going to be afraid to walk out of your house." He predicted that Democrats would get "beaten so badly" in the2018 midterm elections because of the issue (the Democrats gained control of the House, but Republicans expanded their majority in the Senate in the elections).[35][36] Then-Vice PresidentMike Pence visited ICE's headquarters in the wake of the controversy, calling ICE andBorder Patrol agents "heroes."[37]
Many Democratic politicians, such as SenatorAmy Klobuchar of Minnesota and former Vice PresidentKamala Harris of California, believe that ICE should bereformed rather than abolished.[38][39][40] Harris said that Democrats should "critically reexamine ICE" and "think about starting from scratch" with immigration policy, while SenatorBernie Sanders said that Democrats should instead encourage Trump to work with them on "a national program which deals with this serious issue."[41]
National polling by thePew Research Center in July 2018 found that ICE was one of the least popular government agencies. The same poll found that public support of the agency was sharply partisan: 72% of Democrats held an unfavorable view of the agency while 72% of Republicans were found to have a "favorable opinion" of it.[42] A June 2025 Pew survey reported that 54% of Americans disapproved of ICE's increased workplace raids.[43] A July 2025Quinnipac University poll found that 57% of voters disapproved of how ICE was enforcing immigration laws and 64% disapproved of deporting people to third countries.[44]NPR/PBS found that 54% of adults thought ICE had "gone too far", whileCNN found that 53% of Americans opposed the expanded funding for ICE provisions in theOne Big Beautiful Bill Act.[45]
Polling byPOLITICO/Morning Consult in July 2018 found that 25% of Americans favored abolishing ICE while a majority supported keeping it.[46] In August 2018, polling bythe Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 37% of Americans held an unfavorable opinion of ICE.[47] The same poll found that 24% of Americans supported abolishing it. In January 2026, polling byThe Economist/YouGov shortly after thekilling of Renée Good found that 46% of Americans supported abolishing ICE, while 43% opposed.[48] Commentators have noted thatU.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), not ICE, is responsible for border enforcement, so abolishing ICE alone would not end the United States' ability to enforce its immigration laws, nor would it necessarily end the controversial practice of family separation that spurred support for the movement.[49]
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