Kamal Ghorui
Indian-origin Congressman Shri Thanedar announced his intention to introduce legislation to dismantle the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and end its current enforcement authority.The bill, titled the Abolish ICE Act, followed the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman, during an ICE operation in Minneapolis.
“The tragic death of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, a 37-year-old mother fatally shot by an ICE agent, shows that ICE cannot be reformed and must be abolished. The Abolish ICE Act is a step toward justice, accountability, and a more humane approach to immigration policy,” Thanedar said.He added, “When an agency’s structure consistently produces harm instead of justice, there is no way to reform it. We must fundamentally change the way we approach immigration.”The proposed legislation would eliminate ICE, which was created in 2003 under the Department of Homeland Security, and shift its enforcement responsibilities to other federal agencies.Thanedar and other supporters argued that immigration enforcement could be carried out more effectively and lawfully by other parts of the federal govt, while critics of the agency said its structure and methods led to repeated abuses and a lack of accountability.Good, a mother of three, was shot and killed by an ICE agent during the enforcement action, an incident that sparked protests in several cities and intensified national scrutiny of the agency.The shooting renewed calls from progressive lawmakers and advocacy groups for major changes at the Department of Homeland Security and, in some cases, for dismantling ICE altogether.The episode also deepened political divisions in Washington. Some Democrats called for structural reforms and greater oversight of federal immigration enforcement, while Republicans and the administration defended ICE’s role, arguing that abolishing the agency would undermine immigration enforcement and national security.
