'ICE needs to be totally torn down': Senator calls ICE a 'goon squad', no reform possible, only destruction – We Got This Covered
Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Federal agents guard a perimeter following a shooting incident as angry residents protest their presence in the city on January 14, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to reports, a federal agent shot a Venezuelan man who was resisting arrest. The Trump administration has sent a reported 2,000 federal plus federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region. The Trump administration has sent a reported 2,000 federal plus federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

‘ICE needs to be totally torn down’: Senator calls ICE a ‘goon squad’, no reform possible, only destruction

A "goon squad that has come from Stephen Miller and Donald Trump."

What are we to do about ICE? After the events of the last few weeks in Minneapolis, Americans are beginning to wake up to the reality of living with a poorly trained and heavily armed paramilitary force, which has given complete immunity for any crimes they commit against regular Americans.

Recommended Videos

The U.S. Constitution just doesn’t mean much on the streets of Minneapolis at the moment, with masked, screaming thugs demanding to see people’s papers, dragging screaming women through smashed car windows, blinding kids, and – of course – executing innocent mom-of-three Renee Good.

Throughout this, there are the familiar cries from the public to “abolish ICE”. So far, establishment Democrats have preferred to sit on the fence on this issue, arguing that maybe these racist goons just need better training. Now it appears that a movement to destroy ICE altogether is gaining momentum in the party.

Yesterday, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) appeared on CNN to argue that ICE is so fundamentally rotten and riddled with evil that reform is impossible. It has to go:

“I think ICE needs to be totally torn down. It has to be created in the image of what people want. What does that look like? From my experience running in Arizona, a very hard, hard state when it comes to immigration issues, people want immigration enforcement that goes after criminals and focuses on criminals. Immigration enforcement that’s actually focused on security, not the goon squad that has come from Stephen Miller and Donald Trump.”

Trump and Miller’s ‘goon squad’

Gallego underlined that a federal law enforcement agency must respect the law and the Constitution, saying they can’t just smash their way into homes, businesses, schools, and places of worship without a warrant.

He also says it’s untenable to allow them to wear masks that allow them to escape culpability for their actions, something you’d expect to see in a third-world tinpot dictatorship, not the U.S.

Gallego is right that ICE is beyond saving. At this point, it’s riddled from top to bottom with people who signed up so they could legally terrorize, assault, torture, and kill people they don’t like. I mean, is someone like Greg Bovino, who spends his days strutting around in SS Officer cosplay, going to change his mind after a seminar on responsible law enforcement?

With the midterms looming, Democrats need to get on message about ICE, and the obvious reality is that it’s far beyond reform. It needs to be totally dismantled and a new immigration agency built from scratch that must adhere to the law and respect Constitutional rights. That replacement may still be kind of evil, but at least it wouldn’t be what’s currently stinking up the streets of Minnesota.


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of David James
David James
I'm a writer/editor who's been at the site since 2015. I cover politics, weird history, video games and... well, anything really. Keep it breezy, keep it light, keep it straightforward.