Movement to Abolish ICE picking up steam

CNN reports that The movement to ‘Abolish ICE’ is heating up — and going mainstream:

Calls to eliminate the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, for years relegated to the far-left corners of progressive activism, have been thrust this week into the mainstream of Democratic politics.

Cracks in the dam became visible 10 days ago, when a group of demonstrators confronted Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at a Mexican restaurant in Washington. They called for an end to the Trump administration policy that resulted in separating migrant families at the border and, as the viral protest heated up, began to chant: “Abolish ICE!”

Less than two weeks on, the demand — a favored meme on the left — has gone from a progressive fringe cause, mostly ignored even by some of the most liberal lawmakers, to a political message being embraced by a growing roster of influential national Democrats.
Fueling its sudden ascent have been a series of recent shocks to the system. On Tuesday, US House candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered a stunning Democratic primary upset in New York after campaigning on abolishing the agency, which was formed in 2003 as part of a post-9/11 federal overhaul that created the Department of Homeland Security.

Two days after Ocasio-Cortez’s primary, New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand became the first senator and potential 2020 candidate to announce her support for the agency’s elimination. Less than 12 hours later, on Friday morning, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio joined the chorus, telling WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, “ICE’s time has come and gone.”

“I don’t think ICE today is working as intended,” Gillibrand said Thursday night on CNN’s “Cuomo PrimeTime.” “I believe that it has become a deportation force, and I think you should separate the criminal justice from the immigration issues.”

More including video at CNN.