Progressive Democrats Escalate Fight Against ICE with New Legislation
As Congress passes a government spending bill that intensifies the existing battle over the Department of Homeland Security’s future, progressive lawmakers are targeting the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts with new legislation. On Tuesday, Representatives Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) and Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) urged fellow Democrats to support the Melt ICE Act, a bold proposal that goes beyond mere reform.
A Radical Approach to Immigration Enforcement
Unlike those in her party who seek to amend Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ramirez’s proposed legislation would essentially end immigrant detention and monitoring under DHS while returning taxpayer dollars to the communities impacted by ICE. "For over a year, our communities have witnessed abductions, kidnappings, the unlawful detention of children, the militarization of our cities, the murder of neighbors, the persecution of dissent and the rise of fascism in our nation – all facilitated by the Department of Homeland Security," Ramirez declared at a press conference.
She added, "Yet there are those in Congress who would still, after all that, expand the DHS budget and ICE capacity to keep Trump’s mass deportation agenda and further hurt our communities."
Timing and Political Context
Joined by activists and Democratic Representatives Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Chuy Garcia (Ill.), and Summer Lee (Penn.), Ramirez made the demand just minutes before the House voted 217-214 on a government funding bill that ended the partial shutdown. That legislation provides only 10 more days of funding to DHS as the Trump administration faces increased bipartisan pressure over its violent immigration enforcement tactics.
"This isn’t new. Many of us had for years fought against the extreme abuses of ICE and other parts of DHS – which happened under both Republican and Democratic administrations, let’s be clear – and now we’re seeing the consequences," Garcia said, referencing the September killing of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez by federal immigration agents in Chicago.
Allegations of Systemic Abuse
Garcia continued, "They’re racially profiling people, they’re brutalizing protesters, ripping families apart, dumping them in concentration camps and claiming the authority to override the Constitution and its protections against this lawlessness. So no half measures against authoritarianism."
Some lawmakers hope the temporary DHS funding in Tuesday’s bill will buy enough time to negotiate over immigration reforms that both parties can agree to before the agency faces a lapse – which would not significantly impact ICE, unlike Ramirez’s proposal.
The Case for Dismantling ICE
There are more than 70,000 people currently in ICE detention, and a record number of deaths in custody, according to the American Immigration Council. The Melt ICE Act argues that the immigration agencies responsible for those numbers cannot be reformed, only completely dismantled and rebuilt.
"ICE is now the largest police force in the country, operating with never-before-seen funding to maintain and expand the already largest detention system in the world," said Setareh Ghandehari of the Detention Watch Network. "ICE has repeatedly proven that no one is safe in its custody."
Public Opinion and Political Momentum
According to new polling by Data for Progress, 54% of voters believe Congress should not fund DHS unless the agency increases regulation and oversight of ICE operations. ICE’s favorability with the public has plummeted – going from +13-point favorability in January 2025 to -19-point favorability on Tuesday.
Lee commented on the Trump administration, "Their focus is to make an America that reflects them, their values, their desires. And we need to be very clear about that. But we also need to fight back, and we need to have the exact same energy that they have right now in our destruction, for building what we actually believe is a better world and a better society."
She concluded, "An America that reflects us and our values, and the best that we could possibly have to offer it – and we have so much to offer it, which means that we have so much to fight for right now."
