House Democrat poised to oversee ICE funding resists progressive push to abolish agency

Rep. Henry Cuellar, a longtime Democratic House member representing a southern border district in Texas, has rejected calls from progressive Democrats to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Despite the election of several new Democratic Socialists who advocate for abolishing ICE, Cuellar asserts that most Democrats do not support defunding the agency but instead want to impose stricter regulations on its operations. Cuellar, currently the ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, is set to become chairman and will likely maintain funding for ICE, opposing any efforts to dismantle it or revert to policies like those under the Biden administration that allowed easier access to asylum claims at the border. He warns against such policies, emphasizing the need for balanced and nuanced immigration enforcement strategies.