# Democratic Party Official Position is to Abolish ICE **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 15, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355 "2026-08-15T19:46:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/364 "2026-09-02T21:49:59Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Republican “swingables” are nonexistent Yet there were voters who voted Biden then Trump. There are those who voted Trump and are disaffected. Which really is the point of this: > [@bobot](#): > > Yes or No, did Trump receive more votes this time around than the first? More. Votes that can be recouped by Democratic candidates or more or not. > [@Chronos](#): > > That’s what ICE means for most people. For those people, “reform ICE” means “change the way that we’re harassing and killing random people”. That’s a nonstarter You keep saying that but the polling data shows that more people actually DO prefer reform over abolish. They actually are not as dumb as you think they are. They amazingly > [@Chronos](#): > > do know what ICE’s mission is actually supposed to be If you have polling that shows given a choice of reform or abolish abolish wins with voters overall or with independents please do share. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/365 "2026-09-02T22:00:35Z")
When polls ask voters to list/rank the importance of certain issues, I look no further into the results than “what came in first?”. The rest is speculation. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/366 "2026-09-02T22:01:07Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Yet there were voters who voted Biden then Trump (jauntily waves hello) ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/367 "2026-09-02T22:05:56Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > (A thought to ponder: Yes or No, did Trump receive more votes this time around than the first?) As I’m sure you know, his popular vote went up every time he ran, from ~63 million in 2016 to ~74 million in 2020, then ~77 million in 2024. On the other hand, Kamala Harris in 2024 dropped 6 million votes from Biden’s 2020 total of ~81 million. If she had kept the Biden coalition together (or if said coalition allowed itself to stay together) she probably would have beaten Trump in 2024. How many of those 6 million vote loss ended up becoming part of Trump’s 3 million vote pickup? And are they likely to be persuadable in the reverse by adopting different (more palatable) policies and/or slogans? Or would it be better to get the post-Biden dropouts to vote Democratic again - and what messaging would help with that? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/368 "2026-09-02T22:08:27Z")
I’m firmly in support of “Abolish ICE”. And if my countrymen disagree, then we’re headed where I think we are. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/369 "2026-09-03T12:30:14Z")
Right… a lot of them would like (shockingly) somewhere in the middle between present-day ICE style harassment and terror, and no enforcement/open borders. Which is where the Democratic party ought to officially position themselves. The problem is that the voices are on either extreme- it’s either support the government, or support the illegal immigrants, and when put on that spot, a lot of people will choose their own side versus people from elsewhere. So the answer is not to put them on that particular spot. Not sure how you condemn ICE and yet also don’t support illegal immigration, but that’s why they’re paid the big political bucks to figure out. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/370 "2026-09-03T12:33:15Z")
No national Democrat is for open borders or supports illegal immigration. And, ICE isn’t arresting just undocumented immigrants these days, they’re going after immigrants with refugee status, work visas, etc. In order to meet their giant arrest quota, they aren’t being all that careful. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/371 "2026-09-03T13:25:40Z")
“Abolish ICE” does not equal “Open Borders!” no matter how many times it is invoked. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/372 "2026-09-03T13:27:34Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I propose the Dorkness rule of slogans: > > If you have to explain why your slogan is for a good idea, it’s a bad slogan. > > If I have to explain why your slogan is for a bad idea, it’s a good slogan. The more I read this discussion, the more I think that “Abolish ICE” is a bad slogan, for the reasons above. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/373 "2026-09-03T13:41:04Z")
It can be easily intentionally obfuscated, sure. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/374 "2026-09-03T13:57:53Z")
It’s easy to overthink yourself into too much caution, IMO. Better to make things simple - and this is a simple idea, with simple answers to follow up questions (“assign legitimate duties to other agencies that handled it before ICE”). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/375 "2026-09-03T14:04:32Z")
I agree that simple is good–but only simple in a sense that forces others to explain why it’s bad. “Fix our immigration system” is also simple, and it can and should mean getting rid of ICE, but it’s trickier to demonize those words. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/376 "2026-09-03T14:09:24Z")
Strategically there is a danger in focusing on an issue your opponents unilaterally control. I say this as someone who thinks the ICE abuses are one of the top, possibly the top, issues of this administration. If this administration continues to reign in ICE, it will undermine the Abolish or Reform ICE plank with swing / low-info voters. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/377 "2026-09-03T14:17:03Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Strategically there is a danger in focusing on an issue your opponents unilaterally control. I’m not sure what you mean by “unilaterally control.” Do you mean that, as they control executive and legislative branches, they literally control it? If so, I think that makes it a great issue for Democrats to run on: Republicans get all the blame. If you mean that they’ve run and won on the issue before, that’s a stronger case, but I still think it’s wrong. [Polls show that Republican approaches to immigration are broadly unpopular](https://apnorc.org/projects/trumps-approval-on-immigration-remains-steady/). This is a moment when Democrats can seize the issue from Republicans, turn what’s traditionally been a strength for them into a weakness. “There’s a better way” should be the refrain. “Fix the system that so many people are unhappy with!” ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/378 "2026-09-03T14:34:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m not sure what you mean by “unilaterally control.” Sorry for not being clear. I mean that the administration controls the day-to-day operations of ICE and can direct them to be more or less aggressive, more or less visible. Killing US citizens and raiding the homes of US citizens are the types of abuses that resonate the most with voters of all stripes, while locking undocumented workers in cages only resonates with some. If you double-down on ICE as an issue, then the administration can reign in ICE for a time and undermine the message with some of the key voters. People have a short attention span; if ICE takes a low profile, then low-info voters might not care about the issue in 14 months. * * * ETA: At the risk of being mealy-mouthed, I don’t mean that Abolish or Reform ICE _shouldn’t_ be a position – I think it’s too important to ignore. But there is a danger that it’s importance can be undermined regardless whether the slogan is Abolish or Reform. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/379 "2026-09-03T14:39:21Z")
I mean, maybe people will not be motivated by immigration atrocities that happened 14 months ago. On the other hand, people were motivated in 2024 by immigration atrocities that never happened at all. _They’re eating the cats, they’re eating the dogs._ If Democrats push it as an issue as hard as Republicans pushed it as an issue, there’s some room for movement. I would never say “Reform ICE.” That’s the wrong focus. “Fix our immigration system” is something that everyone can get behind: few people think our system is good right now. Make the slogan good, and when people challenge you for details trying to show it’s not actually good, you’ve won half the battle. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/380 "2026-09-03T15:39:50Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > national Democrat As if that matters in the least bit. People don’t draw a distinction between the local Mexican-American city councilman out there glad-handing with the people protesting ICE and waving Mexican flags and that sort of thing, and the national Democratic party structure or national level candidates or politicians. If that local guy does it in his official capacity as a duly anointed Democratic party politician, it’s assumed that what he’s doing is in line with the national party’s views and guidelines. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/381 "2026-09-03T15:58:20Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I would never say “Reform ICE.” That’s the wrong focus. “Fix our immigration system” is something that everyone can get behind: few people think our system is good right now. Make the slogan good, Yup. That is much better. There may be one better yet but that opens up for all of what majorities want to get behind, including real immigration system reform, pathway to citizenship included. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/382 "2026-09-03T16:04:17Z")
I’m not sure how to respond to this. Local Democratic, even state-level Dem politicians have been out there protesting ICE, all over the place. That doesn’t mean that they are for open borders. Maybe you can find a local Dem who is for totally open borders, but so what? Do voters distinguish between the craziest local Republicans pushing for the death penalty for abortion doctors or something and more mainstream? I think they do. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355/383 "2026-09-03T16:19:00Z")
I just watched an ad for Roy Cooper for Senate. His slogan: “I’ve got a plan to Make Stuff Cost Less, and you can read about it here.” Good slogan! Nobody can disagree with “Make Stuff Cost Less.” People can disagree with “Increase Free Trade,” or “Regulate Corporations” or “Block Mergers” or “Regulate Drug Prices” or any of his other proposals. But “Make Stuff Cost Less”? Great slogan! Let that be a model for Democratic immigration slogans. > **[Make Stuff Cost Less | Roy Cooper for North Carolina](https://roycooper.com/costless/)** > > Roy Cooper is running for U.S. Senate to make stuff cost less, starting with the price of food and groceries. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democratic-party-official-position-is-to-abolish-ice/1032355.md?page=20)