Longtime Democratic strategist Al Hunt joined James Carville in tearing into the Democratic National Committee for embracing an “abolish ICE” stance ahead of midterms, calling it a “dumb” idea.
“That’s insanity on two grounds. As policy, how can a nation exist without an immigration agency, and politically, it’s a gift to troubled Republicans,” Hunt said on Thursday’s podcast episode of “Politics War Room.” “They’ll say, ‘See, they just want open borders and return to those bad old days.’ It’s the stupidest idea since Democrats called for abolishing the police.”
According to a recent poll by the Economist/YouGov published in March, half of Americans surveyed now somewhat or strongly support abolishing ICE, following a string of controversies the enforcement agency has come under fire for.
The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration led to multiple instances of federal agents using excessive force during operations, which resulted in a number U.S. citizens to be briefly detained ― and two killed.
A Marist survey published in February found that 65% of Americans believe ICE’s actions enforcing immigration laws have gone too far.
On Saturday, the DNC approved two policy positions regarding immigration enforcement, one calling for “concrete reforms” and another for abolishing the agency as a whole.
However, according to Hunt, the DNC “ought to stay away from dumb ideas like abolishing ICE.”
“To be clear, I think the current ICE, which takes orders from the White House aide Stephen Miller, a despicable bigot and hater, is out of control,” Hunt clarified. “There are too many ill-trained thugs who have injured and even murdered innocent people.”
The veteran strategist called for a complete overhaul to reform ICE “when a new administration takes over” instead.
“It needs to be reformed. Throw out all the current leaders. Bring in serious law enforcement and immigration experts. Set rigorous training standards, rules and accountability,” he said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Carville responded. “And one thing that all these DNC members have in common: None of them got a single vote for anything. It’s not your job to steer the policy direction of the party. It’s your job to win elections.”
Carville, who brutally criticized progressive Democrats in recent weeks amid their growing popularity ahead of midterms, said members within the DNC only have one goal, which is to win elections.
“They have to make public fools of themselves. There’s not much we can do about it because the stupider they get, the stupider they are, but, why are you dragging the good Democrat candidates we got all around the country?” Carville said. “You think our candidate in Alaska is interested in this? No. Texas? No, no, no, no. God almighty, these people are dumb!”