Overview
- The Democratic National Committee approved dueling measures on Saturday at its Austin summer meeting, with one resolution calling for concrete reforms to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a second urging Congress to abolish the agency.
- The abolition resolution urges lawmakers to pass legislation to dissolve ICE, wind down the immigration detention system, restrict certain Department of Homeland Security enforcement funding, end contracts with private detention providers, and release most immigration detainees.
- DNC Chair Ken Martin and party leaders stressed the votes are advisory and nonbinding, noting that the formal party platform will be decided at the 2028 convention and that candidates will set their own positions.
- Members were sharply divided over strategy and electability, with Michele Johnson pushing for abolition and others such as Yvonne Reeves-Chong warning the language could hurt the party in competitive races.
- Republicans quickly attacked the move as politically damaging and the vote follows public outrage after two fatal encounters involving ICE agents in July; the meeting also named South Carolina as the first state on the 2028 primary calendar.