Schumer calls ICE "rogue force" while progressives demand abolition

On Feb. 15, 2026, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) appeared on CNN's State of the Union and called ICE a 'rogue force.' He said the agents are 'almost trained, it looks like, to be nasty and mean and cruel.'

Schumer demanded that ICE agents stop wearing masks, arguing that 'every other police department in America is unmasked. ICE can do the same.'

When CNN's Jake Tapper asked Schumer directly if he wants to abolish ICE, Schumer refused to say yes. He would only say 'I have lots of problems with ICE.'

Schumer claimed he's 'looked at the polling data' and that 'the public is crying out for change.' But he won't commit to using the Democrats' funding leverage to defund the agency.

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) introduced the Abolish ICE Act (H.R. 7123) in early February 2026

The bill has over 70 co-sponsors

It would cut off ICE's federal funding, cancel remaining obligations, and wind down the agency entirely within 90 days Thanedar said 'ICE is out of control and beyond reform We must fundamentally change the way we approach immigration: it's time to abolish ICE.'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told The Independent that Democrats should 'absolutely' push to cut ICE funding. She said 'This Congress, this Republican Congress, while they cut a trillion dollars to Americans' healthcare, and they exploded the ICE budget to $170 billion making it one of the largest paramilitary forces in the United States with zero accountability as they shoot US citizens in the head.'

Rep. PJPramila Jayapal told Axios 'We can't just keep authorizing money for these illegal killers. That's what they are, this rogue force.'

Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) had already backed down on one of their key demands by early February

On Feb. 5-6, 2026, they dropped their insistence that ICE agents be prohibited from wearing masks to conceal their identities

Rep. DRDelia Ramirez (D-IL) told reporters 'Every time that we are winning, we seem to somehow sabotage it.' She added 'Schumer needs to get the hell out He continues to demonstrate to us that he can't meet the moment.'

ICE received $75 billion in funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in 2025

Customs and Border Protection got $64 billion

The DHS shutdown that began on Feb. 14, 2026, doesn't affect ICE or CBP operations at all They keep running with full funding The shutdown only affects FEMA, the Coast Guard, and TSA House Democratic Leader Jeffries acknowledged this, saying 'your taxpayer dollars in the one big, ugly bill were used to provide massive tax breaks for Republican billionaire donors and to give DHS a $191 billion slush fund.'

Polling from UpOne Insights conducted Feb. 7-11, 2026, shows 82% of Americans say it's important for the U.S. to enforce immigration laws

This includes 99% of Republicans, 80% of independents, and 66% of Democrats

Fully 76% of Americans support deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have a criminal record Support for deporting those with violent criminal records reaches 92% But the same polling shows that learning a candidate wants to abolish ICE would make 49% of Americans less likely to vote for that candidate.

Democratic leaders demanded ten specific reforms in a Feb. 4, 2026, letter to Republican leadership: body cameras required, judicial warrants for home entries, bans on face masks, identification badges visible, protections for sensitive locations like schools and churches, independent oversight, and an end to 'roving patrols.' House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) rejected the warrant requirement, saying that requiring judicial warrants is 'a road we cannot and should not go down.' Republicans control 53 Senate seats and don't need Democratic votes to pass funding without reforms.