Abolish ICE? A Guide to the Partisan Fight Over This U.S. Agency
Since April, when the Trump administration began a “zero tolerance” policy toward people caught illegally entering the U.S., one of the agencies charged with enforcing it, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been the focus of protests and praise.
Since April, when the Trump administration began a “zero tolerance” policy toward people caught illegally entering the U.S., one of the agencies charged with enforcing it, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been the focus of protests and praise. A growing number of Democrats have called to “abolish ICE,” even as Republicans have rallied behind the agency. While the debate raged loudly before June, when President Donald Trump abandoned a policy of separating families who’d crossed the border illegally, both Republicans and Democrats have kept the ICE debate alive, hoping the issue will bring more of their supporters to voting booths in the November congressional elections.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the federal agency responsible for finding and removing people who are in the U.S. illegally. It doesn’t patrol the border, that’s the job of the Customs and Border Protection agency.