Democrats split on abolishing or reforming ICE at DNC meet

The Democratic National Committee on Saturday approved duelling resolutions on the future of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one calling for concrete reforms and the other for abolition, reflecting sharp disagreement ahead of the midterms, Hindustan Times reports. The vote, taken at a summer meeting in Austin, is not binding and will not set the party's platform, which will be decided at the 2028 convention. But it laid bare the divide between progressives and moderates on an issue that has intensified after two fatal ICE shootings in July.

Michele Johnson, a DNC member from Louisiana who proposed the abolish measure, said the party must take a clear stand rather than sounding “academic” or “focus group tested”. She pointed to the dissolution of ICE's predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as a precedent. Opposing the measure, Yvonne Reeves-Chong argued it would please only part of the base while drawing fire from other voters. DNC Chairman Ken Martin, whose home state of Minnesota saw two fatal shootings amid the immigration crackdown, said Democrats are united in believing that what ICE and CBP are doing now must stop.

The disagreement comes as a recent AP-NORC poll found that only 39% of U.S. adults approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration, down from 49% at the start of his second term. Immigration remains a stronger issue for Trump than the economy or Iran, the poll showed.