De Blasio wants to abolish ICE, replace it with something ‘sensible’

By Thomas Phippen

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio joined his voice with dozens of Democrats calling to abolish the immigration police force responsible for investigating and arresting illegal aliens throughout the country.

De Blasio stressed that there needs to be an agency to deal with immigration, but that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “has become a punitive, negative tool for division and it’s no longer acceptable,” the mayor told WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer in an interview Friday.

Lehrer asked de Blasio about his position on ICE in light of a recent push to undo the agency critics say is too cruel to immigrant families. The stunning victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley for the nomination to New York’s 14th congressional district, brought new attention to the progressive movement to dismantle ICE.

“I think that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez that is right, we should abolish ICE. We should create something better, something different,” de Blasio said.

“I think every country need the kind of sensible, transparent immigration regulation. There’s no question about that,” de Blasio said. “There needs to be some kind of agency to deal with immigration. But ICE is not that. ICE has proven it can’t be that. ICE’s time has come and gone. It is broken. ICE has been sent on a very negative, divisive mission and it cannot function the way it is.”

The growing list of Democrats calling to abolish ICE includes Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, and recently New York Sen. Kristen Gillibrand.

Responding to questions about Ocasio-Cortez’ platform, Gillibrand told CNN Thursday that she doesn’t “think ICE today is working as intended.”

“I think now, we’re starting to realize that ICE — part of that suite of legislation has a structure that allows for civil rights and human rights abuses,” Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday. “And, you know, it may seem like a radical position, but I actually think it is very, very common sense. You know, we should not be separating children from their families.”

De Blasio has criticized ICE in the past, particularly when he criticized allegedly “provocative action” when the agents arrested a prominent immigration activist who is undocumented when he appeared for a routine check-in with his case officer at ICE’s office.

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Image courtesy of Bill de Blasio

10 thoughts on “De Blasio wants to abolish ICE, replace it with something ‘sensible’

  1. What do you do if you’re an open-borders democrat and you can’t argue with logic and fact that *anyone* should be able to walk across our border and become a registered democrat? Well, you vilify and demonize the agency tasked with finding these illegal invaders and call for its dismissal. To say democrats operate with a third grade mentality would be an understatement. The reality that sane adults must come to terms with is that infantile democrats are literally willing to give away the country in order to feel good about themselves and try to get a bunch of new democrat voters. Speaking for myself, I am not willing to become the defacto slave of these simpletons who think I should donate my labor to their bizarre dream of being dominated by invaders. It is seriously time for the adults to take back the country from these clowns. Just imagine where our country would be if crooked Hillary was in the White House.

  2. I think we should allow the De Blasio thinking folks the opportunity to become host families for these people. Let the write them off as dependents on their income tax and be fully responsible for their debts and cost. I bet you would see them shut up real fast.

  3. I am not a fan on ICE . They hired two former Bellows Falls cops that are child molesters .
    Their office of professional responsibly OPR and Internal affairs have investigated one of these agents formerly a Bellows Falls police Sgt . This investigation was based on a BCI VSP investigation sent to the Boston HSI Ice office .

    HSI OPR Jeffrey Perry of Portsmouth NH and supervisory agent in charge of Internal affairs Desmond O’Neill of NYC did nothing but cover up this sordid rotten affair . Both pedophile agents are still working for ICE .

  4. De Blasio’s ‘sensible’ idea is open borders. He is a Communist (as is Bernie Sanders, and the other two dolts aren’t far behind) and wants to ‘fundamentally change America ‘ (Obama’s goal). Anybody who espouses open borders does not have America’s or American’s best interest at heart.

  5. I’ve read this e-paper only a few times. I am not strongly sided with any political party or position. I think political parties are too cultish.

    Yes, VT’s politics lean too heavily in one direction. We do need more balanced reporting. But, this ain’t it.

    The few comments that I have read on this site are extremely ignorant.

  6. Social workers have been removing kids from situations for years. Nothing new except the illegals get better treatment than US citizens

  7. Bill de Blasio is a Communist,so what he wants or feels plays no part in a Constitutional Republic.

    • Are you implying the country should operate on the rule of law and our Constitution? That is going to crush the hopes of a great many low info voters.

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