ICE was created in 2003 to replace the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and installed under the jurisdiction of the brand new Department of Homeland Security.
Deportations increased over the next decade, spiking during President Obama’s first term, but the ruthless aggression with which ICE agents have pursued potential illegals since Trump took office has transformed the agency from a somewhat controversial subdivision of the DHS into the most prominent real-life example of the president’s authoritarian tendencies.
The movement to abolish ICE was popularized in 2017 by writer and researcher Sean McElwee, and the idea has since gained traction among some progressive Democrats, many of which are running for office in November.
No one is ignoring the current border crisis, and as journalists and politicians have traveled to visit detention centers in recent weeks, the idea of axing the agency has found a toehold in the mainstream – and with good reason.
