DEMS/ICE/IMMIGRATION: “Abolish ICE! That was the seemingly radical message that Chardo Richardson, a House candidate in Florida, published in an online statement four months ago, endorsing a call to eliminate the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. To that point, the idea had largely been passed around on social media; among political candidates, Mr. Richardson was something of a lonely voice. But in the months since — as startling images emerged from the border of migrant children separated from their parents — the call to abolish or defund the agency has gained momentum in the midterm campaigns. Case in point: the shocking victory on Tuesday [6-28-18] by an insurgent primary candidate in New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had made abolishing ICE a part of her platform. From Massachusetts to Hawaii, progressive candidates undeterred by the immense obstacles to eliminating a federal agency have peppered Twitter with hashtags of support.The call to abolish ICE remains a largely rhetorical, activist position with questionable feasibility. Top Democratic leaders have not adopted the position, and only a handful of other sitting politicians have embraced it to this point. But fueled by continued anger over the crisis at the border, the movement to abolish ICE is taking hold as an important policy issue for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.”
-Sydney Ember and Astead W. Herndon, “How ‘Abolish ICE’ Went From Social Media to Progressive Candidates’ Rallying Cry,” The New York Times online, June 29, 2018