Immigrant-justice organizer Harsha Walia said the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be viewed as a starting point for reform.
This perspective shifts the focus from the removal of a single agency to the dismantling of a broader police-state apparatus. Proponents argue that the agency's existence threatens not only immigrants but also U.S. citizens and democratic institutions.
In a recent interview on The Real News Network podcast, Walia and host Mansa Musa discussed the systemic nature of immigration enforcement. Walia said the agency was established in 2003 [1] under President George W. Bush with bipartisan support [1].
While the agency has existed for over two decades, the movement to abolish it gained significant momentum more recently. Calls to abolish ICE intensified during the period between 2017 and 2021 [2].
Critics of the agency argue that simply removing ICE is insufficient if the underlying structures of surveillance and detention remain. Walia said that abolishing the agency represents the floor of the necessary reforms, not the ceiling, of what is required for true justice.
This approach emphasizes that the agency is part of a larger network of control. By framing abolition as a baseline, organizers aim to push for a comprehensive restructuring of how the U.S. handles migration and border security.
“Abolishing ICE is the floor, not the ceiling.”
The argument presented by Walia suggests that the 'Abolish ICE' movement is often misunderstood as a final goal rather than a tactical entry point. By identifying the agency as a symptom of a larger state apparatus, advocates are signaling a shift toward a more radical restructuring of federal law enforcement and immigrant rights, moving beyond the removal of a single entity to address the root causes of systemic detention.
