Candidate for Congress visits Texas tent city, wants to abolish ICE

TORNILLO, TX - JUNE 24: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stands at the Tornillo-Guadalupe port of entry gate on June 24, 2018 in Tornillo, Texas. She is part of a group protesting the separation of children from their parents after they were caught entering the U.S. under the administration's zero tolerance policy. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) less TORNILLO, TX - JUNE 24: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stands at the Tornillo-Guadalupe port of entry gate on June 24, 2018 in Tornillo, Texas. She is part of a group protesting the separation of children from their ... more Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Candidate for Congress visits Texas tent city, wants to abolish ICE 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Last week, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visited Texas to witness firsthand the interment of migrant children in the Tornillo desert.

Now, after a surprise primary victory over her 10-term incumbent opponent in New York, she's set to campaign for Congress on big plans: abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"When I talk about the abolishment of ICE, it is not a fringe position," Ocasio-Cortez told Vogue on Monday. "[ICE] was established in 2003 in a suite of legislation that almost everybody recognizes as a mistake. People recognize the Patriot Act as a mistake ... they regret the Iraq War, and DHS [the Department of Homeland Security], and ICE were right in there with all of that legislation."

The Bronx native joined hundreds in the El Paso area desert last week to protest the migrant internment camp holding about two dozen children separated from their family.

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Ocasio-Cortez, a Bernie Sanders-backed Democratic Socialist, defeated incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley on Tuesday in the primary race for New York's 14th congressional district. Moments after her victory, she reaffirmed her campaign promise to abolish and investigate ICE.

Just pulled @Ocasio2018 aside. She told me she is ready to introduce legislation to abolish ICE and set up a congressional investigation to investigate ICE abuses day 1. — we're going to abolish ICE (@SeanMcElwee) June 27, 2018

But Ocasio-Cortez isn't the only person vying to eliminate the 15-year-old agency.

After a trip to McAllen, Texas, Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin also announced plans to abolish ICE.

"During my trip to the southern border, it was clear that ICE, and its actions of hunting down and tearing apart families, has wreaked havoc on far too many people," Pocan said in a news release on Monday.

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"I'm introducing legislation that would abolish ICE and crack down on the agency's blanket directive to target and round up individuals and families," he said. "The heartless actions of this abused agency do not represent the values of our nation and the U.S. must develop a more humane immigration system, one that treats every person with dignity and respect."

Donald Trump ended his administration's policy of separating migrant families last week with the signing of an executive order. Despite the order, the fate of more than 2,300 migrant children in custody remains unclear.

*Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Ocasio-Cortez as a Congresswomen.

Fernando.ramirez@chron.com

Twitter.com/fernramirez93