Inside Democrats' brewing war over the resurgence of "defund ICE"

""What we've seen in Minneapolis and in Portland is what happens when we militarize against our own people," said Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.). "We've got a level of funding that makes ICE bigger than a lot of militaries around the world." Peters, a leading member of the center-left New Democrat Coalition, said he is "totally open" to trying to reduce ICE's funding and quipped: "Consider me a progressive.""

"State of play: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is proposing a set of reforms to the agency that he wants to tie to the Jan. 31 fiscal cliff, but some progressives say policy riders are insufficient. "We need funding reductions ... policy is not enough," said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who stressed that "'defund' and 'abolish' are two different things." "Some of us are at the 'abolish 'place, proudly. And I think moderates can start thinking about what does 'defund' mean," Ramirez told Axios."

Center-left Democrats criticize militarized responses in Minneapolis and Portland and note ICE's funding exceeds many national militaries. Members of the New Democrat Coalition express openness to reducing ICE funding. Some swing-district centrists say the agency was overfunded and would support rolling funding back to fiscal year 2024 levels. A senator proposes reforms tied to the Jan. 31 fiscal deadline, while progressives argue policy riders are insufficient and call for funding reductions or abolition. Progressive proposals would redirect funds from enforcement to housing and health care. Other centrists oppose defunding and emphasize limited votes for such measures.

Read at Axios