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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is now calling for the abolition of our current immigration system and a restructuring of Immigration and Customs Enforcement after facing criticism for dancing around the issue.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the 2016 presidential candidate took a clearer stance on the agency and reminded followers that he voted against establishing ICE and the Department of Homeland Security when they were proposed 15 years ago.
In 2002 I voted against the creation of DHS and the establishment of ICE. That was the right vote. Now, it is time to do what Americans overwhelmingly want: abolish the cruel, dysfunctional immigration system we have today and pass comprehensive immigration reform.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 3, 2018
That will mean restructuring the agencies that enforce our immigration laws, including ICE. We must not be about tearing small children away from their families. We must not be about deporting DREAMers, young people who have lived in this country virtually their entire lives.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 3, 2018
We must not be about forcing over 10 million undocumented people, many of whom have been here for decades, to continue living in fear and anxiety. Congress must do what the American people want. Let us create a humane and rational immigration system.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 3, 2018
Sanders joins fellow Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a number of other lawmakers and 19 ICE special agents in calling the agency into question in light of its role in separating immigrant families and its handling of immigration as a matter of criminal enforcement.
Late last month, Sanders caught flak for sidestepping a question from CNN’s Jake Tapper asking if he favored abolishing ICE.
“I think that what we need is to create policies which deal with immigration in a rational way,” the senator said. “And a rational way is not locking children up in detention centers or separating them from their mothers. What we need is Trump to sit down with members of Congress and work on a rational program which deals with this serious issue.”
This piece has been updated to reflect that Sanders called to abolish the entire immigration system when speaking about ICE.
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