Sin. French Revolution (IT) He went on CNN this morning and said among other things“I think ICE should be completely demolished… People want immigration enforcement that goes after criminals, not the idiot band that came from Stephen Miller and Trump.” This is where every Democrat should be. Shut down ICE and replace it with a new immigration enforcement agency built on the rule of law that actually enforces the country’s immigration laws humanely and lawfully unlike ICE which has turned into a presidential paramilitary force focused on mopping up violence and treating blue cities like occupied territories.
But these comments are more important as a signal. Gallego came out of the progressive wing of the House Democratic Caucus and Phoenix’s beautiful blue urban House district. But he made some important shifts to run and win statewide. Among those who were moving significantly if not significantly to the right of most Democrats on immigration issues. The fact that he’s now saying ICE should be “totally demolished” speaks volumes. Sees where the public is on ICE. He definitely knows where Arizonans are on ICE.
We still hear There is a “controversy” among Democrats On “Cancel ICE”. It’s okay if people want to avoid the word “cancel.” It is perhaps no coincidence that Gallego said it should be “totally demolished.” It’s Latin anyway if you’re still under the long hand of Strunk & White. But I think very few people see ICE as any kind of police force that protects them or makes wherever they work safer. In fact, there have been very clear polls about this recently. Large majorities believe that ICE makes the areas in which it operates less safe rather than safer, and that it is a source of chaos and violence rather than a response to it. Although they wouldn’t put it that way, I think even the most staunch ICE supporters understood that.
So yeah, tear it down. Build another non-police immigration agency. Sometimes you have to take unpopular positions in the hope that they will become popular and because they are rooted in core beliefs. This is not one of those times. And at ICE itself, Democrats have complete freedom to say clearly and loudly what actually needs to be done. Demolish it. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was on the same edition of CNN’s State of the Union Saying clearly “You don’t have military forces deployed in a city… because the city voted for the other side. Maybe that’s what happens in other countries. But that’s not happening here. Here this is America and we have to defend these American values.”
I like to call ICE what it is – “military forces.” Demolish it. The audience sees what is happening here very clearly. until The wiser voices in the White House see Which.