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DNC Votes to Back Eliminating ICE as Trump Expands Deportations
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The Democratic National Committee ( DNC ) approved resolutions on Saturday addressing immigration enforcement, with members backing a measure urging lawmakers to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while also more strongly approving a separate proposal calling for reforms to the agency.
The vote, conducted during the DNC's summer meeting in Austin, Texas, highlights ongoing internal debates within the party over how to approach immigration policy ahead of this year's midterm elections as President Donald Trump expands deportation efforts .
In July, border czar Tom Homan said ICE was on schedule to set arrest records for a second consecutive month, describing the agency's current enforcement push as "deportation-maxxing."
In an interview with NewsNation, Homan said ICE recorded the highest monthly arrest totals in the agency's history in June and that July's pace was running even higher.
“In June, we had the highest numbers of arrests in the history of the agency of ICE and July’s tracking even beat that. So we’re hitting all cylinders now,” he said.
Meanwhile, Saturday's measure urges Democratic members of Congress to enact legislation dissolving ICE and winding down the immigration detention system. It also calls for restricting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding unless certain enforcement activities end, including workplace raids, mass roundups, arrests at courthouses, arrests at ICE check-ins, enforcement actions near schools and houses of worship , and other operations, as well as terminating contracts with private detention providers.
DNC chair Ken Martin emphasized that official party platforms are established every four years at the national convention, while noting that Democrats remain united in opposing the administration's current approach to border and immigration enforcement.
"Our official party positions are determined at the convention every four years in our platform," Martin said in a statement to Newsweek . "However, clearly, the one thing that unites Democrats, regardless of their position on reform versus abolish or whatever other ways to change what's happening, is people believe that what ICE is doing right now and CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] and the federal government should stop. There has to be a better way."
Newsweek reached out to ICE and the White House for comment on Saturday.
The resolution argues that immigration detention is a civil rather than criminal matter and contends that detained immigrants should generally be allowed to pursue their cases while not being held in custody.
The non-binding vote does not alter official party platform policy for 2028, but it illustrates the distinct approaches favored by various activists and party officials heading into the midterms.
The vote reflects how rapidly the party's conversation around ICE has evolved.
Earlier this year, top congressional Democrats stopped short of calling for the agency's elimination while demanding significant reforms.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both of New York, released a list of proposed changes to ICE operations, including the banning of face coverings for immigration agents, requiring visible identification, restricting enforcement near schools and churches, expanding body-camera requirements and imposing additional use-of-force standards.
Michele Johnson, a DNC member from Louisiana who proposed the measure to abolish ICE, told the Associated Press on Saturday that it’s time for Democrats to take a stand and pointed to the dissolution of ICE’s predecessor agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as a precedent.
“I think one of the reasons why people are not trusting the party is because we sound so academic,” she said. “We sound focus group tested, we sound poll tested because we’re worried about saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing and not just like, just stand on business, like take a position.”
However, DNC member Yvonne Reeves-Chong voted against the measure, telling the AP it would only gain support from a part of the party’s base, while drawing “fire” from another group of voters.
“I would strongly suggest we get to the business of winning races so we can make the policies that make a difference,” she said.
The resolution comes as anti-ICE rhetoric has become increasingly common in Democratic primaries across the country, particularly in races where immigration enforcement operations have become high-profile political issues.
Public anger over ICE tactics may energize Democratic primary voters and immigrant communities as Democrats seek to reclaim the House and Senate in November, but surveys suggest affordability remains the more dominant concern and that Republicans retain an advantage on immigration and border security, raising questions about whether Democrats risk emphasizing an issue where they are less competitive heading into the general election.
A May 2026 Marquette Law School national survey asked U.S. adults to name the most important issue facing the country.
Inflation and cost of living ranked first at 37 percent, followed by the economy at 19 percent, while immigration and border security trailed far behind at 6 percent. The same poll, conducted with a margin of error of roughly 3 to 4 percentage points, also measured which party voters trust more on key issues. Republicans led Democrats by 19 percentage points on immigration and border security, while Democrats held smaller advantages on inflation and the broader economy.
The Marquette survey also highlights the strategic tension for Democrats. While Trump’s overall approval rating stood at 38 percent, with 62 percent disapproving, his strongest issue remained border security, where 48 percent approved an...
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