Ilhan Omar Floats Abolishing ICE, Discusses DHS “Dismantlement” at Town Hall

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and suggested dismantling the Department of Homeland Security during a town hall event Wednesday night.

During the event, an audience member asked, “How do we get ICE out of America?” Omar responded that the conversation around abolishing the agency is now easier than it was when she first entered Congress. “What we need to do with ICE is to abolish it,” she said, adding that there is ongoing discussion about what the “dismantlement” of the Department of Homeland Security should look like.

Omar argued that the agencies housed within DHS lack accountability and criticized federal immigration enforcement practices. She suggested that unless the federal government returns to the pre 2002 structure that existed before DHS was formed, lawmakers must create a different system that she believes would prevent what she described as federal agents terrorizing communities.

The Department of Homeland Security was established in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 Americans and injured thousands more. The attacks, carried out by al Qaeda terrorists under Osama bin Laden, exposed significant weaknesses in domestic intelligence coordination and aviation security.

In response, President George W. Bush created the Office of Homeland Security, and Congress later passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002. DHS officially began operations in 2003, consolidating 22 federal agencies and approximately 180,000 employees into a single department focused on counterterrorism, border security, intelligence sharing, and emergency response.

Today, DHS employs roughly 260,000 people and oversees agencies including Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Its mission has expanded over time to include cybersecurity and responsibilities related to election security, while remaining the federal government’s central agency for homeland defense.

Omar’s remarks are likely to intensify debate over immigration enforcement and national security, particularly as President Trump continues to prioritize border security and interior enforcement policies.