Letter: Half steps won’t suffice; ICE must be dismantled

Published 7:51 pm Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Residing in the U.S. without legal documentation is a civil immigration violation, not a criminal offense. Trump’s Department of Homeland Security has terminated, or slated for termination, the Temporary Protected Status of more than one million people, virtually all people of color, leaving them undocumented or temporarily protected only because courts have paused revocations as arbitrary and capricious.

Most Americans do not support arresting or detaining undocumented residents who have no criminal convictions. Seventy-four percent of people booked into ICE custody have no criminal convictions, and only about 5% have been convicted of violent offenses.

Congress provided ICE $10 billion in regular Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations. In July 2025, it gave $74.85 billion in supplemental funding available through Fiscal Year 2029, which ICE can front-load (subject to the Office of Management and Budget’s approval).

Now, ICE seeks another $10.3 billion for Fiscal Year 2026. Senate Democrats are withholding approval of that request subject to greater “accountability.”

But “accountability” is insufficient. Accountability happens retrospectively, after the injury has occurred. Body cameras will not stop violence by those who injure and kill in public view. More training will not change the attitudes of people recruited through white Christian nationalist iconography. And rules will not deter people who flaunt constitutional limits and ignore direct court orders.

Enforcement of civil immigration laws should be reassigned to agencies with appropriate missions and oversight. Crimes belong in the criminal justice system. Judges can order deportation only when the law and public safety warrant it. ICE must be dismantled.

SUSAN MARMADUKE

Astoria