Krishnamoorthi: ‘I Want to Abolish the Funding and Trump’s ICE’, ‘In Theory,’ ICE Should Exist

On Tuesday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) stated that “I want to abolish the funding and Trump’s ICE. I think that, in theory, there should be Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, but not the way that it’s happening now.”

Co-host Kate Bolduan asked, “I want to ask you about the continued ICE operations you’ve seen in the Chicago area, but, also, we’ve been tracking in Minneapolis and Minnesota. You are among Democrats who I have seen are refusing to support funding bills coming out of Congress unless DHS and ICE are reined in. The statement I saw coming from you, Congressman, was that we must abolish Trump’s ICE, a slogan, a mantra, a refrain that other Democrats do not want to bring back right now. Sen. Ruben Gallego, for one, is a Democrat who’s running for Senate, coming out of Arizona, of course, he told The New York Times this, ‘The last thing we need to do, again, is to make the same mistake when it comes to defund the police rhetoric. That ended up not actually helping communicate what people wanted. People want a slimmed-down ICE that is truly focused on security.’ Is this line that you are now supporting and saying, is this going to hurt your cause?”

Krishnamoorthi answered, “No, I don’t think so. I think what we are saying is, we are not going to send another dollar to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, so long as they conduct themselves the way they are right now. You saw what happened with regard to Renee Good, the shooting of and killing of Renee Good. You see that they’re detaining, not the worst of the worst, but they’re basically going after families, they’re disrupting the economy, they’re detaining U.S. citizens — including in my own congressional district — and they’re fueling rhetoric that gives license to racism and racial profiling. A Florida politician called for me to be deported, Kate, and that was based on what the president and others have been saying about immigrants. And so, I think that we are on solid ground saying no to funding current operations as they stand, so long as ICE does not abide by rules, regulations, the laws, or the Constitution, they can’t count on my vote for more funding for them.”

Bolduan followed up, “Do you want to abolish ICE?”

Krishnamoorthi responded, “I want to abolish the funding and Trump’s ICE. I think that, in theory, there should be Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, but not the way that it’s happening now. This is completely unacceptable, what’s happening right now.”

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