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Democrats worry 'Abolish ICE' slogan will backfire politically like 'defund the police' did
By Joshua Nelson
Published January 15, 2026
Some Democrats are worried the "Abolish ICE" slogan will become as infamous a liberal slogan as "defund the police," The New York Times reported Thursday.
According to the Times, "Some Democrats worry that calls to eliminate the agency are an unwelcome distraction from more pragmatic approaches. They fear that the ‘Abolish ICE’ slogan will age as poorly as ‘Defund the Police’ did."
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., believes that pushing "Abolish ICE" rhetoric "would hurt the cause."
Sen. Ruben Gallego believes pushing "Abolish ICE" rhetoric "would hurt the cause" of the Democratic Party. (Go Nakamura/Reuters)
"Clearly ICE is an absolute problem — they’re out of control, moving way too fast," Gallego told the Times.
"The last thing we need to do, again, is to make the same mistake when it comes to ‘Defund the Police’ rhetoric. That ended up not actually helping communicate what people wanted. People want a slimmed-down ICE that is truly focused on security."
Calls to defund the police from far-left figures became more popular among Democrats in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. However, the phrase did not catch on with the public and wound up hurting down-ticket Democrats in that year's election. And many leaders in the party have sought to distance themselves from the slogan that appears to critics as wokeness run amok.
"But some Democrats caution that calling for the outright elimination of ICE is a trap that will only help Republicans," The New York Times reported.
The center-left think tank The Third Way cautions Democrats to avoid calls to abolish ICE.
The center-left think tank The Third Way cautions Democrats to avoid calls to abolish ICE. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
"The impulse is emotional," the memo states. "The slogan is simple. But politically, it is lethal. Every call to abolish ICE risks squandering one of the clearest opportunities in years to secure meaningful reform of immigration enforcement — while handing Republicans exactly the fight they want."
WHITE HOUSE BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR ICE VIOLENCE AS MINNEAPOLIS ERUPTS, INSURRECTION ACT THREAT LOOMS
An ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good last week during a federal enforcement operation in south Minneapolis. Federal officials have said agents were attempting to make arrests when the woman tried to use her vehicle as a weapon, prompting an ICE agent to fire in self-defense.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Top Democrats, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, criticized the federal account of the incident and rejected the claim that the officer acted in self-defense.
Minnesota has since sued the Trump administration, claiming the immigration enforcement surge in the state is "unlawful" and "unprecedented."
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