'Abolish ICE'? A new audacity in Democratic hopes
Is #AbolishICE a movement or just a slogan?
Is it a path to the White House for aspiring Democratic presidential hopefuls?
Or is it just the latest way for battle-ready Democrats to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory?
Such are the questions facing Democratic congressional candidates and presidential hopefuls as the hashtag "#AbolishICE" pops up increasingly online, in political rallies and other political conversations as some sort of battle cry.
The slogan made national news when somebody reportedly shouted it in the background as Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant whose owner and workers didn't like the administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy that had separated more than 2,000 children from the parents.
The slogan gained steam online and in the news after the stunning surprise victory last week by an insurgent primary candidate in New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The former bartender and Bernie Sanders campaign worker had made abolishing ICE a part of her platform one of three top issues on her platform, along with "Medicare for all" and free higher education Suddenly the issue became a political litmus test for aspiring presidential hopefuls on the left.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., became the first senator -- and possible presidential hopeful -- to call for the agency's elimination last week. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in a Facebook post and in a speech at a protest in Boston called for rebuilding our immigration system and "replacing ICE with something that reflects our values."
Legislation that would get rid of the federal agency has been introduced by Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and has the support of several Democratic colleagues in the House, including Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Jim McGovern and Michael Capuano of Massachusetts, and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona.
Another possible presidential contender, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, stopped short of calling for abolition of ICE yet said that the agency needs to be re-examined, and "we need to probably think about starting from scratch."
All of which brings great glee to conservative talk show hosts and top Republicans, including President Donald Trump. The call to eliminate the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which was created in 2003 in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, plays right into Trump's false claims that Democrats are soft on crime and want "open borders."
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