ABOLISH I.C.E.
Disband Immigration and Customs Enforcement and restructure civil immigration functions under accountable agencies.
Why this matters.
ICE was created in 2003 under the Homeland Security Act, consolidating functions previously housed in INS, Customs, and the Federal Protective Service. DHS Office of Inspector General reports have repeatedly documented systemic failures in ICE detention oversight, medical care, and use-of-force reporting. Restructuring civil immigration adjudication under USCIS and transferring legitimate customs functions to CBP returns the function to its pre-2003 statutory baseline.
Non-partisan in application.
Restructuring amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. § 251 et seq.). Civil immigration enforcement continues under existing INA authority but with stronger independent oversight via DHS OIG and a statutory inspector general for detention operations.
Measurable outcomes. Hard deadlines.
Disbanding ICE and transferring functions to accountable agencies eliminates the $8.8 billion annual enforcement budget that incentivizes mass detention and deportation. Reducing the detained population from 34,000 to a statutory maximum of 5,000 under humane alternatives saves $2.4 billion annually. The Tracker monitors votes to cut ICE funding, expand community-based alternatives to detention, and support the Dignity Not Detention Act.
The Accountability Tracker records every vote on ICE appropriations, amendments to cut detention-bed quotas, and co-sponsorship of abolition/restructuring bills. A candidate must vote to reduce ICE funding by at least 50% and co-sponsor restructuring legislation to be PAC-eligible.
Introduce legislation to disband ICE, transfer customs to CBP, adjudication to USCIS, and create an independent immigration-custody inspector general.
Secure House passage; achieve majority Senate co-sponsorship of the restructuring bill.
Enactment; all ICE detention facilities closed or converted to community-service centers; enforcement budget cut by 60%.
Immigration enforcement limited to genuine national-security and criminal cases; 95% of cases handled through administrative adjudication without detention.