Democrats seek to block ICE funding and replace it with a new agency in the U.S.

Miami (USA).- Democrats in Congress are seeking to block funds from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) and replace it with a new agency that depends on the Department of Justice, Congressman Ro Khanna, a progressive from California who leads the effort, told EFE. Party leaders have announced their vote against funds for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) because “ICE’s budget is literally going to triple,” denounces Khanna, adding $18 billion annually for four years to its usual resources, which already amount to $10 billion a year. «We need to vote to cut ICE’s funding. Frankly, we need to demolish ICE and start a new federal agency that is under the Department of Justice. But it is unacceptable for any Democrat to vote for this bloated ICE budget,» indicated the Democratic representative for California in an interview.

The Financing of ICE

The Democrats’ opposition to more funding for ICE comes after it was reported on January 3 that its force grew by 120% after hiring 12,000 agents, bringing the total to 22,000. This happens because of the «great and beautiful law» that President Donald Trump signed last year and that will make it the largest security agency in the United States, with an estimated budget of 75 billion dollars, higher than almost all the armies in the world. “I want to ensure that all Democrats oppose this. We cannot have Democrats complicit in funding an ICE that is detaining American citizens, killing American citizens, committing atrocious human rights violations on immigrants,” Khanna argued.

Replace the ICE

Pressure against ICE has risen this year after the death of Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen who was shot by an immigration agent on January 7 during an operation in Minneapolis, which has intensified protests nationwide. After the fact, a YouGov and The Economist poll showed on January 13 that for the first time there are more Americans, 46% versus 43%, who support abolishing ICE, created in 2003 by then-President George W. Bush (2001-2009) after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

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“This is not something that most Americans support. Of course, people support law enforcement and immigration, but this shouldn’t be done by thugs and it shouldn’t be done in an illegal way. It needs to be under the Department of Justice,” Khanna insisted.

Although analysts warned in the past of political costs for supporting the end of ICE, the legislator argued that public opinion has changed in the face of documented abuses, such as the death of Good and migrants, so that “more and more Democrats are saying that this agency needs to be dismantled and replaced.”

In this context, Democrats on the Congressional Oversight Committee launched an ‘ICE Dashboard,’ a website where they document alleged agency abuses and where people can report violations of their human rights. Khanna promised that, if the Democrats regain Congress after next November’s midterm elections, they will formally investigate these complaints, including the deaths of migrants in ICE custody, such as the three who have already died in January, following the record of more than 30 in 2025.