HOW TO THINK ABOUT IT

“Reform ICE” is no rallying cry. While hundreds of protests have been held across the U.S., including a five-week Portland, Oregon, occupation of the local ICE headquarters, support for abolition of ICE is far from mainstream. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer have called for reform, while California Rep. Maxine Waters, often an adversary of President Trump’s, sidestepped the debate altogether. “I’ve never said a word about ICE.” Even the original Democratic co-sponsors of the House bill to abolish ICE said they would vote no if it were brought to the floor by Republicans.

Furthermore, is it even possible? ICE was created by Congress, so Congress would have to be tasked with abolishing it, should the idea gain enough traction. The body could also delegate the task to the executive branch, but President Trump has consistently supported ICE — he’s accused “the liberal left” as a whole of wanting to abolish it — and would be unlikely to do so. Meanwhile, the House bill introduced to abolish ICE didn’t give a concrete alternative, instead proposing a yearlong bipartisan commission that would determine which of ICE’s duties are indispensable and which other agencies could take them on. The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, explained that ICE’s brand has become so toxic that it could impede agents from doing their jobs. “If ICE on a jacket right now is what no longer allows you to get information you need because people are afraid of what that means,” he said, “then you have to dismantle that part of what ICE is.”

Prime directive. ICE was created to fight terrorism — as in, keeping dangerous individuals out and targeting their supply stream — in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Since its establishment in 2003, the agency’s annual budget has skyrocketed to $7 billion this year, with a staff of 20,000. Meanwhile, its mission has shifted alongside the government’s increasingly combative stance against immigration and the alleged danger immigrants themselves pose. In 2017, the agency made 37,734 noncriminal arrests, about double the number in 2016 — and while ICE wasn’t responsible for President Trump’s controversial family separation policy at the border, the agency has been criticized for its treatment of families in detention and its lackluster record on reuniting immigrant parents with their children.

WHAT TO READ

OK, Abolish ICE. What Then? by Matt Ford at The New Republic
"Which of the agency’s responsibilities — which extend well beyond immigration enforcement — should be eliminated entirely, and which should be preserved? And where should the latter go?"

Democrats Are Campaigning in Poetry Again, by Matthew Yglesias at Vox
"Democrats are following in Trump’s footsteps by prioritizing emotionally resonant constructs over detailed, practical agendas for action. Other popular progressive rallying cries of the moment, from ‘Medicare-for-all’ to ‘free college’ to ‘guaranteed jobs,’ are incredibly ambiguous as policies."

WHAT TO WATCH