Democrats Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal, Adriano Espaillat propose ‘Abolish ICE’ measure, then will vote against it
In a move clearly designed to appeal to progressives in the Alt-left, three House Democratic members introduced a measure Thursday calling for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). GOP leadership move the bill to a vote for debate and the same three same three Democratic congressmen who introduced the measure, Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), said they would vote no if the measure reached the House floor.
Here is the reason for the shift in direction:
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The bill would “create a commission to examine ICE’s responsibilities and then recommend transferring them to other agencies.”
Even Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has not supported the idea of ending ICE, saying, “No American likes the separation of children and that’s an awful thing and that’s got to be stopped, but ICE does do some things that are very important.”
“Whether people are saying reform it, or they’re saying abolish it, what we’re all saying right now is that ICE is being misused by the president in a way that makes it unable to function as it needs to,” Pocan said during a meeting with reporters less than a week ago.
Pocan said critics are falsely accusing Democrats of being for open borders.
“Were not saying we want open borders,” he said. “ICE does not patrol the borders. It protects the interior, addresses domestic terrorism, human trafficking.”
He criticized ICE for “going after people with parking violations.”
“We should not abolish ICE, but we need to make sure they’re focusing on their highest priority — targeting violent criminals and drug traffickers, not families and refugees,” Baldwin said in a statement, heading into a heated midterm election. “This is yet another example of why we need comprehensive immigration reform to fix our broken system.”
Politico: “Only 1 in 4 voters in the poll, 25 percent, believe the federal government should get rid of ICE. The majority, 54 percent, think the government should keep ICE. Twenty-one percent of voters are undecided.
“…Democratic voters do support abolishing ICE, the poll shows. Among Democrats, 43 percent say the government should get rid of ICE, while only 34 percent say it should keep ICE. Majorities of Republicans (79 percent) and independents (54 percent) want the government to keep ICE.”
