Support ‘Fully Abolishing’ ICE, ‘Rip It Down to the Studs’
On Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power” Monday, Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX), who was sworn in Monday night, discussed ICE and said he supports “completely abolishing the agency. I think it needs to be torn down to the studs.” And “I want to abolish it. I think you’re tearing it down to the studs, and when it comes back it shouldn’t be ICE anymore.”
Co-host Joe Mathieu asked, “Well, let’s be real about what should happen. You said at your victory party that it’s time to tear ICE up from its roots. Does that abolish the agency or reform it?”
Menefee responded: “I support abolishing the agency altogether. I think you need to tear it down to the posts.”
Mathieu interrupted to continue: “When you rip something down to the studs, that usually means you’re going to rebuild it. It’s not so much abolishing, it’s replacing, right?”
Menefee responded: “No, I want to abolish it. I think you’re ripping it out at the studs, and when it comes back, it shouldn’t be ICE anymore. It should be a different type of law enforcement agency that is built in a way that ensures that communities will be protected. You can’t take something that was created and radicalized to this level, that has harmed so many people, and try to make minor reforms to it in a way that you think is going to protect people I think they’ve gone way over the line, and once people have been executed in the street, it’s time to tear it down.”
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