Opinion

‘Abolish ICE’ is a sign of the left’s rising extremism

It’s becoming the new litmus test of the Democratic Party’s resurgent left: As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put it soon after her upset primary win over the No. 4 House Democrat, “If they’re not actively calling for the abolition of ICE . . . they need to go.”

Now, spurred by last weekend’s celebrity-driven protests against the breakup of families at the border, ambitious Democrats are hopping aboard the bandwagon.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand and Mayor Bill de Blasio, among others, are all calling for Immigration Customs and Enforcement to be shut down.

Even though President Trump has suspended the breakups — and it was the Border Patrol, not ICE, separating the families.

Then, too, the “Abolish ICE” crowd has no actual proposal for what — if anything — should replace it. They just want the agency shut immediately, and we’ll worry later about what comes next.





Which leaves them legitimately open (as Trump clearly realizes) to the charge that what they really want is no immigration enforcement, and de facto open borders.

Indeed, now that Trump has ended the separation of children, many of those who first called for just that are demanding an end to detaining families altogether.

But Democrats shouldn’t get carried away by media coverage of the protests or their own overheated rhetoric. Yes, polls show widespread opposition to Trump’s handling of the border crisis — but also show that Americans still oppose illegal immigration and favor beefed-up border security.

A few Democrats realize this: Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois is refusing to join the “Abolish ICE” movement, saying: “There’s a lot of other things we can do before we get to that point.” And New York’s Chuck Schumer wants only a “real overhaul.”

Real immigration reform requires rational laws and a workable, humane enforcement system. But that requires political compromise, which can’t happen when so many Democrats are rushing in the opposite direction.





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