Democratic U.S. rep. for Chicago Delia Ramirez introduces bill to dismantle DHS, abolish ICE
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) announced she is introducing a new bill that proposes dismantling the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and redirecting their funding to more social services.
Ramirez has been an outspoken critic of DHS, ICE and immigration enforcement actions by the Trump administration. She has previously called for accountability and oversight to excessive force used during Operation Midway Blitz by federal agents with ICE and DHS, introduced a bill to ban the use of "shock gloves" by ICE agents, and led congressional inquiries into TSA data sharing and ICE enforcement at airports.
She's also worked on legislation to expand public housing, provide more services and programs for people experiencing homelessness, provide medical care and reimbursements for veterans and advocated for the DREAM Act that would allow undocumented residents who were brought to the U.S. as children to earn a path to citizenship.
Wednesday morning she introduced the Reimagining Safety Act at a news conference in Chicago. Ramirez said the bill calls for dismantling DHS and ICE, repeal the authorities that give DHS its power and then redirect the funding to "programs that working families rely on."
The bill "would create a new human- and community-centered federal department," Ramirez wrote in the announcement to promote "collective safety."
Ramirez was joined at the announcement by 26th Ward Ald. Jessie Fuentes, Illinois State Sen. Graciela Guzman, Illinois State Rep. Norma Hernandez, Cook County Commissioner Jessica Vasquez, immigration rights and community organizers, and other public officials and organizations.
The bill faces a steep path in Congress, where Republicans still control both the House and the Senate. It is also unlikely President Trump, who has made mass deportations and immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his second term, would sign it into law if it did pass.
