By Sharon Zhang
This article was originally published by Truthout
“The problem isn’t ‘training.’ DHS was built to violate our rights,” said Rep. Delia C. Ramirez.
Amid growing calls for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), one House Democrat is calling for the entire Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be dismantled.
In a social media post on Monday about federal officers’ killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, Rep. Delia C. Ramirez, a Democrat representing part of Chicago, pointed out that DHS’s purpose since its inception in 2002 has been to oppress those in the U.S.
“The officer who shot Alex worked for DHS for 8 years. The officer who shot Renee worked for DHS for over 10 years. Both are considered ‘highly trained,’” Ramirez wrote. “The problem isn’t ‘training.’ DHS was built to violate our rights and has been empowered to act with impunity.”
She cited a NBC article on Good’s killer, Jonathan Ross, which reported that he has worked as an enforcement officer for DHS since 2007 — nearly two decades. She also cited remarks by Border Patrol’s Greg Bovino, the architect of DHS raids in Minneapolis, who said that the officer who killed Pretti was “highly trained” and has served Border Patrol for eight years.
“We must MELT ICE and dismantle DHS,” Ramirez went on, referring to her and Rep. Yvette Clarke’s (D-New York) Melt ICE Act to effectively bar DHS from being able to detain immigrants.
The lawmaker’s comments stand in direct contrast with those of Democratic leaders who have sought to characterize the killings as a failure of training.
In a caucus call on Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) told Democrats that they should push a message to “reform” ICE. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) has been backing “enhanced training” and a “body camera mandate” for ICE agents — which would actually entail more funding for the agency.
As DHS’s violence has unfolded, on the other hand, Ramirez has spoken out numerous times about defunding the agency. In a hearing by the House Committee on Homeland Security last week, Ramirez said that DHS isn’t “rogue,” and that its current violence is merely an extension of its mandate. “From its establishment, Congress empowered DHS to violate our rights under the pretense of securing our safety,” Ramirez said.
“DHS was intentionally established with an overbroad mission with unchecked power, which has been expanded by Republicans with a blank check, unlimited personnel, and no guardrails whatsoever,” she went on. “And Trump, with his authoritarian tendencies, has been making visible what so many communities already know to be true: DHS is a threat to our collective safety.”
Abolishing ICE was once considered by many in the political establishment to be a fringe left-wing belief. But the idea has gained momentum in recent weeks as the Trump administration has made ICE into the U.S.’s largest law enforcement agency, funneling massive amounts of resources and funding toward it as ICE and other DHS agents ravage communities across the country.
Abolishing DHS, which was created under the Bush administration alongside ICE and Customs and Border Protection, has long been an idea championed by much of the left. Many advocates have reupped their calls for the abolition of DHS in recent weeks.
DHS was first proposed by President George W. Bush, capitalizing on fears after 9/11, who warned of “invisible enemies” that required surveillance and punishment. For decades, presidents representing both major parties have sicced DHS agents on immigrants in the U.S. and held untold thousands in detention centers where they face abuse, family separation, and horrific conditions.
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