DNC Delegates Make ‘F*ck ICE’ Official Dem Policy. But What About Republicans’ FEEEELINGS?
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Delegates to the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting in Austin, Texas, passed a resolution Saturday calling for ICE to be abolished, for DHS’s detention gulags to be closed down, and for the prosecution of ICE thugs and the officials who lied to enable their abuses.
However, some delegates worried that the word “abolish” would be used by Republicans to bash Democrats going into the midterms, so a second resolution calling for “concrete reforms” of the goon agency was also passed.
The resolutions are nonbinding, and won’t actually set the party’s platform, which will be formally debated and adopted at the 2028 convention, for which we’ve already begun drinking.
DNC Chair Ken Martin told the Associated Press that what really matters is that Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda is unacceptable to Democrats:
“Clearly, the one thing that unites Democrats, regardless of their position on reform versus abolish or whatever other ways to change what’s happening, is people believe that what ICE is doing right now — and CBP and the federal government — should stop,” he said. “There has to be a better way.”
We here at Wonkette would have preferred an unequivocal statement by the DNC delegates that ICE is too corrupt to be reformed, and that Democrats not calling for its abolition are outside the norm. ICE and Customs and Border Protection are rogue agencies that disregard the Constitution and human rights, and their abuses won’t be eliminated solely by taking agents’ masks away and requiring them to wear body cams.
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The abolition resolution, introduced by Louisiana DNC member Michele Johnson, called for a fundamental rethinking of immigration policy and enforcement. It urged “Democratic members of Congress to craft legislation abolishing ICE and enacting immigration reform that provides pathways to citizenship, protects workers, and ensures dignity for all impacted people.”
Johnson’s resolution also urged congressional Dems to hold ICE and DHS leadership accountable by pursuing “civil and criminal accountability for any federal agent, attorney, or official who lied under oath, misrepresented evidence, or gave false testimony regarding DHS conduct.”
More importantly, at the ground level, the resolution called on Dems in Congress to “remove qualified immunity and other protections shielding DHS and ICE personnel and subcontractors who have injured protesters or journalists, fired into moving vehicles, or caused deaths in custody, whether of detained individuals, U.S. citizens, or immigrants regardless of nationality or documentation status.”
That’s a good resolution!
Beyond that, Newsweek reports, the resolution also called for winding down DHS’s immigration prisons and ending private prison contracts for detaining immigrants; making DHS funding contingent on reducing detentions; releasing detained immigrants unless they’re really baddies who actually did do violent crimes; and making sure immigration enforcement is subject to human rights oversight. Immigration is a civil matter, so for fuck’s sake let people pursue their cases without locking them up for the sake of satisfying bigots. (We’re very loosely paraphrasing here.)
In a nod to decorum, the resolution didn’t even call that house-cleaning process “de-Nazification.” See, that’s very moderate.
Johnson told the AP that Democrats need to be clear about the goal of undoing ICE and replacing it.
“I think one of the reasons why people are not trusting the party is because we sound so academic,” she said. “We sound focus group tested, we sound poll tested because we’re worried about saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing and not just like, just stand on business, like take a position.”
On Sunday, the day after the summer meeting closed, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries went on NBC’s Meet the Press to explain that Democrats are committed to “dramatic, bold, and transformational reform” of ICE, but he rejected the idea of actually voting to abolish the agency. Like a weenie.
We couldn’t find an actual copy of the text of the also-passed “reform ICE” resolution, but we assume it called for necessary but insufficient fixes previously endorsed by Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, like banning masks, requiring agents wear visible ID badges and body cameras, and stricter limits on use of force and on where ICE can grab people, like not allowing arrests at hospitals, schools, and churches.
White House spokesperson Lauren Bis lied to Newsweek that “Extreme radical Democrats want to abolish ICE and defund the police,” when it’s really just the first part, and repeated the old White House lie that Democrats should thank ICE agents for “putting their lives on the line to arrest and remove murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and gang members from American communities,” insisting that Democrats deliberately released all those monsters from jail. (As we’ve frequently noted, many of the baddies DHS brags about taking off the streets completed their sentences years ago. They’re subject to deportation for their criminal records, so sure, but DHS also pretends that they’re all imminent threats.)
The Federalist was even more dismissive of the “reform” resolution, rejecting the idea that it’s more moderate than calling for abolishing ICE. Expect most Rs to adopt similar framing: Both resolutions are “insanity” because one called to abolish ICE and the other one sought to “gut it” with body cams and — we hope — a requirement for judicial warrants. For good measure, the Federalist rant explained that there’s no such thing as a “moderate” Democrat because they’re all radical Marxists bent on letting criminals run wild.
Could we please please have a lot more Democrats who aren’t going to try to make nice with fascists by using friendlier words? We’re up against a White House that delights in performative (but very real) cruelty, as this deranged tweet from the White House propaganda team yesterday demonstrates.
Trump is a creepy terrifying horror movie devil monster? We’re sold.
[AP / Common Dreams / New Republic]
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I see that last picture and say, "JUMP, YOU LOSER!"
JFC I want to cry. I can't take this. I really can't.
The Israel Defense Forces operated this week in Qabatiyah near Jenin. During the activity, Palestinian detainees were marked with numbers written on their foreheads and bodies.
https://archive.ph/XWnvF