UPDATED: Democrats join dramatically growing calls to ‘Abolish ICE,’ Some Democrats also call for Defunding the Police and Abolishing Prisons. Links to their statements on these issues.

Bill Maher: “this new wing with all the energy and it’s not just a few people anymore. I read every day I read about a new person in some Colorado and Wisconsin, somebody who is saying some variation of not defund the police, abolish the police, no prisons, no police. Like what world do they think we could possibly live in under these conditions? It’s just a level of nutty.”

As the Chicago Sun-Times notes: “Once a dicey political proposition, an increasing number of established Democrats are calling for a dissolution of the federal Immigration and Customs and Enforcement agency.” It isn’t too surprising that some supporters of these Democrats take their claims seriously and resort to violence such as shown in this video of an attack on July 20th, 2026 in New York City.

Other Democrats, such as Darializa Avila Chevalier, who won the Democrat nomination for congress in New York City, even wants to abolish prisons. She seems certain to join others who have similar views. In 2021, Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong, who is the leading the race to the be the Democrat nominee for governor, wrote: “I support defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police.” and “Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option.” On July 22, 2026, Hong made the additional statement: “We no longer can have a system that protects a power and a privilege that puts the pain and lives of armed officers over black people. We can not protect a system that contains to rain harm and terror.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI): “It wasn’t an accident. Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist. Daunte Wright was met with aggression & violence. I am done with those who condone government funded murder. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed.”

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT): pledged to “cutting the prison population in half“

Pete Buttigieg (D): “reduce the incarceration rate by half at both the federal and state levels“

Notable House members who want to abolish ICE (current/recent examples):

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — Longtime supporter since her 2018 campaign.
• Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) — we should be for abolishing ICE
• Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) — Repeated calls to abolish; described ICE as beyond reform.
• Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) — Consistent advocate for abolition.
• Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) — Called to “disband ICE,” “melt ICE,” and opposed further funding.
• Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) — Explicitly called to abolish ICE (and sometimes linked to DHS).
• Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) — Introduced the “Abolish ICE Act” (H.R. 7123 in 2026).
• Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) — “Dismantle ICE, but also Border Patrol…the agency that looks over citizenships…all of it needs to be dismantled.”
• Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) — Supported abolition.
• Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) — Called to abolish ICE.
• Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) — Called to abolish ICE; sponsored “Drain ICE Act” to cut funding.
• Others with strong support or cosponsorship of related bills (e.g., Drain ICE Act, Stop ICE from Kidnapping U.S. Citizens Act, or funding redirection bills): Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY, “dismantle”), Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ, funding redirection), and various cosponsors including Becca Balint, Nanette Barragán, Jasmine Crockett, etc. 

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN): “Abolish ICE. There’s no reforming it. There’s no compromise. There’s only one way to rein in ICE’s terror campaign. Abolish it.”

“Voting no on the funding bill is the bare minimum. Backing [impeachment efforts] is the bare minimum. Holding law-breaking ICE agents legally accountable is the bare minimum. We must abolish ICE.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI): “ICE is a rogue paramilitary organization carrying out Trump and Stephen Miller’s murderous fantasies. A system designed to terrorize our families, lock our neighbors in cages, and inflict suffering on our communities can never be reformed. ABOLISH ICE.”

“ICE shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis today while she was trying to drive away from them. Her killer must be held accountable and brought to justice. We need this rogue agency out of our neighborhoods. Abolish ICE now.”

H.R. 7346: Drain ICE Act of 2026

Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-3) Bill Sponsor

Co-sponsors

Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA-44) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH-11) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN-7) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY-9) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY-10) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL-7) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL-22) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA-30) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA-8) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ-7) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT-5) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD-4) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA-4) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA-28) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL-2) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-3) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-4) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA-6) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA-5) (Feb. 4, 2026)  Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-At-Large) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO-7) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Emily Randall (D-WA-6) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR-6) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA-32) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12) (Feb. 4, 2026)  

Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA-26) (Feb. 9, 2026)  

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV-4) (Feb. 9, 2026)  

Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO-1) (Feb. 9, 2026)  

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30) (Feb. 9, 2026)  

Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ-8) (Feb. 11, 2026)  

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ-6) (Feb. 20, 2026)  

Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Feb. 24, 2026)  

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2) (Feb. 25, 2026)  

Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL-9) (March 3, 2026)  

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL-5) (March 5, 2026)  

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA-36) (March 5, 2026)  

Rep. George Latimer (D-NY-16) (March 5, 2026)  

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37) (March 16, 2026)  

Rep. April McClain-Delaney (D-MD-6) (March 19, 2026)  

Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR-4) (March 25, 2026)  

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) (June 23, 2026)

Senate:

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) — Stated ICE “needs to be totally torn down” (often in context of major restructuring/reform).

Winners of Democratic nominations (examples from recent/ongoing races):

• Illinois congressional district candidates (e.g., 9th District): Daniel Biss, Laura Fine, Kat Abughazaleh, and others who explicitly supported abolishing ICE.
• Maine Senate race candidates (post-incident push): Troy Jackson, Paige Loud, and others who rallied around “abolish” or “dismantle” ICE.
• Similar patterns in some Illinois and other progressive primaries.

61 House Democrats who voted against a resolution condemning calls to “defund the police.”

Balint Barragán Blumenauer Bonamici Bowman Bush Cárdenas Carson Casar Casten Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Crockett DeGette Doggett Eshoo Foster Foushee Frost Garamendi García (IL)

Garcia (TX) Garcia, Robert Goldman (NY) Gomez Green, Al (TX) Huffman Ivey Jackson (IL) Jayapal Johnson (GA) Kamlager-Dove Lee (CA) Lee (PA) McClellan McGarvey McGovern Moore (WI) Nadler Napolitano Neal Ocasio-Cortez

Omar Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Ramirez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Scott (VA) Scott, David Stansbury Takano Tlaib Underwood Velázquez Waters Watson Coleman Williams (GA)

Fox Host (Shannon Bream): “Abolish the Senate?”
DSA Co-chair (Megan Romer): “True”
Fox: “Okay. Replace the presidency and Supreme Court as we now know them?”
DSA: “Yep”
Fox: “Abolish ICE?”
DSA: “Absolutely”
Fox: “Abolish borders and give amnesty to anyone currently in the US illegally?”
DSA: “As a long-term plan, yep”
Fox: “Defund the Pentagon?”
DSA: “Absolutely”
Fox: “Abolish prisons at least in large part?”
DSA: “Yeah. Again, that as part of a long-term program. Yeah.”
Fox: “Okay. So, no prisons, uh government or public ownership of most large corporations?”
DSA: “Ya, absolutely”