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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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Progressives are calling for Democratic Senator Cory Booker to change his stance on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), after he called for tougher regulations for the expanding federal agency.
Booker, who represents New Jersey, posted a video to X January 15, in which he said, “we must do more” to regulate ICE agent activity, following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Among those speaking against the plan was Chi Ossé, a Democratic New York City Council member.
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“We already have ICE murders on video, Corey,” Ossé posted to X Sunday. “Instead of calling for snuff films from a different POV you should be working and advocating to abolish ICE.”
When Newsweek reached out to Senator Booker’s office for further comment, a spokesperson pointed to an interview from last week, in which he said he would not vote for the DHS’ budget when the department refuses to answer senators’ questions.
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Why It Matters
The division between parts of the Democratic Party over ICE’s future come as the agency is growing rapidly with an enhanced presence across the U.S. under President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. They have made it clear that federal agents have their full support, despite outrage after an agent shot and killed Good, a U.S. citizen, and have been seen using force against protestors and immigrants alike.
What To Know
Booker’s post was part of an announcement that he was introducing two bills seeking greater accountability for ICE agents, including tougher hiring and training standards, and making it mandatory for agents to have body-worn cameras while out in the field.
The senator said the policies reflected “widely accepted best practices in policing”, echoing similar messages from local leaders, police chiefs, and sheriffs in recent weeks that they feel federal agents are not held to the same standards as many cops.
Over the past year, under Trump, ICE and the Border Patrol have carried out large-scale operations in major Democratic cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and Minneapolis and St. Paul.
In all these locations, officers have clashed with locals protesting their presence and their tactics, which at times have included the use of tear gas and other crowd-dispersal measures.
For months, Democrats in Congress have sought to hold Noem to account over her agents’ actions, and the conditions in ICE detention, but it was Good’s death in Minneapolis that prompted a far greater level of scrutiny and calls for change.
On the progressive side of the Democratic Party, however, tougher rules and regulations for ICE appear to not be enough, with Ossé and others on X telling Booker that abolishing ICE is the way forward.
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What People Are Saying
Senator Cory Booker, in a press release January 15: “Instead of adopting best practices from around the country, Donald Trump’s DHS is using millions of taxpayer dollars on ads that glorify violence, hiring unqualified candidates, and rushing them onto the streets without adequate training.
“If left unchecked, the erosion of standards for federal law enforcement hiring will continue to put Americans and law enforcement officers in grave danger. This Administration has an obligation to prioritize public safety and uphold the Constitution—and Congress must act now to exercise our duty of oversight and accountability in order to prevent another senseless tragedy.”
Alec Karakatsanis, founder of Civil Rights Corps, on X: “Having just written a book about this and talked to a LOT of Democratic officials, consultants, and pundits, I can assure you that neither Cory Booker nor the police training and surveillance industry he’s advertising think that more money for ICE “training” and tech would remotely address any problem that any person of good will has with what ICE is doing.
“What you are seeing here from Booker is the most craven and cynical counterinsurgency designed to preserve the key structures while tricking low information liberals into thinking people in power care and are “doing something.”
Anthony Zenkus, a Columbia University professor and political activist, on X: “Cory Booker's solution to ICE's violent rampage is more training and body cams for agents. The agent who executed Renee Good was with ICE for 12 years. And wore a bodycam. You can't hate liberals enough. Abolish ICE.”
Washington Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal, in a statement following a hearing on ICE’s actions in Minnesota last week: "Let me be clear: this pattern of reckless, even lethal, use of force cannot continue, and we will do everything in our power to hold this Administration accountable and stop this lawlessness.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, on X January 11: “ICE isn’t the problem. The problem is sanctuary politicians and the violent criminal illegal aliens they protect. President Trump and this administration work to protect every single American and make sure that they can live in a safe community and can raise their kids without fear.”
What Happens Next
With Congress under Republican control, abolishing ICE remains unlikely for now. The agency is on a hiring spree, and Noem and others within the White House have made it clear agents will continue their work to arrest and deport alleged illegal immigrant criminals.
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