Amid DHS funding stalemate, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley calls for ICE to be "dismantled"

Friday is the deadline for Congress to strike a deal to keep the U.S. Department of Homeland Security funded, and a temporary funding bill looks destined to expire unless a deal is reached to reform the department's immigration-enforcement operations.

Such a deal is looking highly unlikely. On Thursday, the U.S. Senate failed to advance a measure to fund DHS, making a government shutdown certain barring a last-minute breakthrough.

While Democrats are calling for stricter oversight and a ban on practices like agents wearing masks, a growing number of lawmakers are calling for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished.

U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Illinois) is calling for ICE to be "dismantled." Speaking to CBS News Chicago's Dana Kozlov on Thursday morning, Quigley was asked the difference between dismantling and abolishing ICE would be.

"Look, there are important functions that the federal government carries out, typically done by ICE right now. One is border security, wants to make sure that there isn't human trafficking, drug trafficking — and those are important functions," Quigley said. "But at this point in time, I have so little trust in ICE and the culture that this president has put in place, it's time to dismantle that agency and start afresh — one that appreciates that immigration reform should have been passed and implemented, but not to go about it in the way that's happening now."

Quigley in particular took issue with the violence involving federal agents that has erupted in American city streets, including two different shootings in Chicago during Operation Midway Blitz.

On Sept. 12, an ICE agent shot and killed 38-year-old Silvero Villegas-Gonzalez in Franklin Park, Illinois after claims that he had tried to use his car to drive into agents when they tried to detain him — though surveillance video from two local businesses showed Villegas-Gonzalez backing up and driving away while an agent was on either side of his car. On Oct. 5, U.S. Border Patrol agents shot Marimar Martinez, 30, in the city's Brighton Park neighborhood after DHS officials said they had been "boxed in" by protesters opposing immigration enforcement operations. Nearly two months later, federal prosecutors dropped assault charges that had been filed against her. The government later admitted in court that Martinez wasn't "ramming" their car at all. 

Meanwhile, with a deadline looming for a temporary funding bill for DHS, Quigley said before the Thursday Senate vote that he expected the stalemate to persist.

"Look, I voted against additional funding for ICE this week, but that bill is now in the Senate, but what I'm hearing is that the Democrats in the Senate will not support it, and there will be a government shutdown as it relates to the Department of Homeland Security," said Quigley. "Bottom line, there are 12 bills that fund the federal government. Eleven of them have passed. The Department of Homeland Security is the only one that hasn't passed."

In a 52 to 47 Senate vote on Thursday, all but one Democrat — Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — opposed moving forward with the bill, which would fund DHS through September. The motion needed 60 votes to succeed. Senate Majority Leader John Thune voted against the motion in a procedural move that allows him to bring it up again.

Late Wednesday, the White House sent a legislative proposal to fund DHS — days after Democrats sent their own draft bill. Democratic leaders were quick to dismiss an earlier version of the counterproposal from the White House this week, calling it "incomplete and insufficient." At the time, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats, noted they "await additional detail and text."

Last week, in a letter to their GOP counterparts, Democratic leadership laid out a list of their demands for reforms to ICE. Since 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis last month, congressional Democrats have demanded changes to ICE in exchange for their votes to fund DHS.

If a partial government shutdown impacting DHS does take effect, Quigley emphasized that it won't just be agencies like ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection that would be affected. He said he favored ICE being singled out for denial of funding.

"Besides ICE, there are other critical functions in that bill, including TSA, including FEMA, including Coast Guard. Those are all critical government functions," Quigley said. "We are willing to support measures that fund all those other aspects that DHS does but ICE, and not funding ICE until reforms are put in place."

Democrats specifically want to restrict immigration agents from wearing masks, require them to wear identification and body cameras and standardize their uniforms and equipment. They also want to ban racial profiling, require judicial warrants to enter private property and bar immigration enforcement at medical facilities, schools, child care facilities, churches, polling places and courts.

Democrats have also pushed to impose "reasonable" use-of-force standards, allow state and local jurisdictions to investigate and prosecute "excessive force" and introduce safeguards into the detention system.

Criticism has mounted regarding the Democratic Party's seemingly disorganized response to the DHS funding debate and other issues — with many voices and opinions, but, some say, a lack of cohesive strategy. But Quigley said Democrats in Congress are more unified than they are being given credit for — for instance, with unanimous support for reforms to ICE.

"Don't ever expect total uniformity and cohesiveness within the Democratic Party, but among the broad issues, I do see an extraordinary unity right now," said Quigley.

Quigley added that he believes many Republicans also believe ICE has a much larger budget than it needs, and are on board with the Democrats' call for reforms for the immigration enforcement agency.

"What I want the public to know is we're not asking ICE to have any reforms that aren't part of every police in this country — requiring ID, no masks, body cameras, no racial profiling, the list goes on," Quigley said. "But we're not asking them to do anything that we don't ask of law enforcement across the country."

Quigley has also said he plans to run for mayor of Chicago in 2027 — in part because of what he called a leadership crisis. The nine-term congressman was asked what he would say to critics who took issue with his running unopposed for reelection to his seat in Congress this year while also running for mayor next year.

"The way these things bleed into themselves, there's not much you can do," Quigley said. "I see a city in crisis, and I want to act," Quigley said. "In the meantime, I'm proud to serve here in Congress, because there's a lot to do."

Last month, Quigley said the city can't continue to tax its way out of financial trouble. Instead, he suggested a pro-business approach to help Chicago grow.

For nearly two decades, Quigley has represented the 5th Congressional District in Illinois, which includes the North Side of Chicago and several northern and northwest suburbs. Before that, he served more than 20 years as a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.