ATLANTA (AP) — Several prominent Democrats mulling a bid for the White House in 2020 are trying to bolster their progressive credentials this week by calling for major changes to immigration enforcement. Some are even pressing for the outright abolition of the federal government’s chief immigration enforcement agency.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, has “become a deportation force” and wants to get rid of it and start over.
Her comments to CNN follow similar sentiments expressed by Sen. Kamala Harris of California over the past week. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who sought the Democratic nomination in 2016 and is mulling another run, has stopped short of calls to dismantle ICE, but he notes his opposition to legislation that led to creating the force.