Photographer: John Lamparski\/Bloomberg <\/p>\n
(Bloomberg) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for dismantling the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, revitalizing the \u201cAbolish ICE\u201d rhetoric that became popular in progressive discourse during the last Trump administration as pushback against the latest deportation efforts intensifies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am in support of abolishing ICE,\u201d Mamdani said in an interview on The View on Tuesday. \u201cI am tired of waking up every day and seeing a new image of someone being dragged out of a car, dragged out of their home, dragged out of their life.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Critics of the agency\u2019s aggressive tactics have gained steam in recent weeks after social media videos of immigration raids in Minnesota and the killing of a woman by an ICE agent prompted nationwide protests. Even some Trump backers, such as superstar podcaster Joe Rogan, have questioned the agency\u2019s approach, asking last week \u201cAre we really going to be the Gestapo?\u201d<\/p>\n
Roughly 57% of voters disapprove of ICE\u2019s enforcement of immigration laws, according to a poll conducted this month by Quinnipiac University.<\/p>\n
Calls to \u201cAbolish ICE\u201d grew during the first Trump administration as the US separated parents and children caught entering the country without authorization. But the language is controversial among Democrats, who don\u2019t want to appear soft on border enforcement and immigration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an opportunity here for Democrats to show the public we have a better plan,\u201d said Kate deGruyter, vice president of communications for Third Way, a think tank that describes itself as center left. She noted that instead of using polarizing slogans, the party should focus on messaging that appeals to voters in battleground states. \u201c\u2018Abolish ICE\u2019 is a message that would only help Republicans,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Searchlight Institute, a Democratic think tank, advised against using the phrase, saying it\u2019s a policy position that is \u201cboth wrong on the merits and at odds with the American public.\u201d <\/p>\n
About 46% of Americans support abolishing ICE, according to a poll this month by The Economist\/YouGov. In June 2025, only 27% did. Currently, a majority also say that agents shouldn\u2019t be allowed to wear masks when making arrests.<\/p>\n
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, stunned New York\u2019s political establishment when he won the Democratic nomination for mayor, besting former Governor Andrew Cuomo in both the primary and the general election. During his campaign, he had backed away from his prior calls to \u201cdefund\u201d the police, which he made during the height of the George Floyd protest movement.<\/p>\n
Mamdani called the Minnesota shooting a murder, while members of the Trump administration say it was an act of self defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese ICE raids, they\u2019re cruel, they\u2019re inhumane,\u201d Mamdani said on The View. \u201cThere is a way to care about immigration in this city and this country with a sense of humanity. What we are seeing from ICE is not it. We have not seen that from them in a long long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump broadly defended his migrant crackdown and expressed dissatisfaction with his team\u2019s messaging, urging the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to \u201cShow the Numbers, Names, and Faces of the violent criminals, and show them NOW.<\/p>\n
But he also acknowledged mistakes. \u201cSometimes ICE is going to be too rough with somebody or, you know, they deal with rough people, they\u2019re going to make a mistake. Sometimes it can happen,\u201d the president said at the White House.<\/p>\n
(Adds quote from think tank in sixth paragraph.)<\/p>\n
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