Winning New Mexico Democrat Tells ICE to Get Lost

A Democrat favoring a softer approach to illegal immigration is not exactly news, but a winning candidate for the Democratic nomination for a congressional seat in New Mexico takes it further. A lot further.

Deb Haaland, who won the primary Tuesday for a seat in the House of Representatives and would become the first Native American woman in Congress if she wins in November, has pledged to shut down the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

“It is time to pull our tax dollars from an agency whose policies demean and abuse people,” she told Newsweek in April. “The role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement should never include killing people, ripping children from their parents’ arms, or sexual assault. Until we can stop this violence and dehumanization, we must stop ICE.”

Haaland (pictured above) is part of a small but growing movement of Democratic candidates who are not content merely to defang ICE but who want to eliminate it altogether. The movement includes Randy Bryce, a Democrat running to replace retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). And Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who served as vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, appeared at a recent rally with the phrase “I Don’t Believe in Borders” emblazoned on his T-shirt.

To advocates for stricter enforcement of immigration laws, Haaland’s position is radical but not surprising.

“That’s becoming the standard Democratic position, because the Democrat Party is radicalized on immigration,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies.

Krikorian told LifeZette that more Democrats simply are becoming more honest about what they believe. He compared it to talk in some right-wing circles of abolishing the IRS.

“The emerging mainstream in the Democratic Party is that no one should ever be deported,” he said.

Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, agreed.

“The Democrats have basically abandoned any pretense of any enforcement … The base of the party — you’ve got this growing demand for a ‘clean’ amnesty with no enforcement of immigration,” he said.

Chris Chmielenski, director of content and activism at NumbersUSA, said the implications for Haaland’s position are far-reaching.

“Essentially, what that equates to is open borders,” he said.

The leftward shift in the Democratic Party on immigration has been pronounced. Krikorian noted that in the recent past Democrats at least paid lip service to the need for secure borders, even if they advocated for amnesty measures for illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for a long time. He said former President Bill Clinton and even Barack Obama — when he was a senator — sounded downright hawkish.

“It’s unbelievable that we’ve reached this state, when people are against law enforcement.”

“They sounded like Donald Trump without the brashness,” he said. “But this is the next logical step.”

The question is why, since it does not appear to be connected to any change in public opinion. Most polls show broad support for at least enforcing immigration laws and deporting criminal illegal immigrants.

Chmielenski said polling even among immigrants indicates support for deporting criminals.

Related: Five Takeaways from Tuesday’s Important Primaries

“It’s unbelievable that we’ve reached this state, when people are against law enforcement,” he said.

Added Mehlman: “We’ve definitely seen a transformation in the last few years … What we are seeing is a small, radical group within the Democratic Party calling the shots now,”

Krikorian said he believes Trump’s election accelerated the Democratic shift.

“Trump’s success has so deranged people on the Left now that they oppose anything he’s for,” he said. “If he said showering daily was a good idea, they would all stop taking showers.”

PoliZette senior writer Brendan Kirby can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.