House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stopped short of dismissing the possibility that Democrats could bring up a vote to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they win back control of the House, even as he sought to minimize how much traction the idea has inside his caucus.
“I’ve spoken to several of the incoming members of Congress across the ideological spectrum,” Jeffries (D-NY) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Not a single person has raised those issues other than, obviously, what they’ve seen from House Democrats in pushing back against an out-of-control ICE.”
Jeffries said Democrats want immigration enforcement to meet basic standards of fairness and accountability. “We believe that immigration enforcement in this country clearly should be fair, just and humane. And that’s not what’s taking place,” he said, adding that ICE agents should “conduct themselves like every other cop, police officer and law enforcement agent in the country.”
Still, a number of Democrats seeking House seats in the 2026 midterm elections are campaigning on platforms that include eliminating ICE altogether.
Among them is Darializa Avila Chevalier, a candidate backed by Zohran Mamdani, who recently defeated Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) in a primary last month. Chevalier has called for abolishing ICE and has removed older social media posts advocating the abolition of prisons, a stance she has not clearly renounced.
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Jeffries also highlighted House Democrats’ resistance to providing ICE funding without major changes to the agency, a standoff that contributed to several government shutdowns earlier this year.
The dispute over ICE has further complicated negotiations over government funding for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 7. House Republicans approved a stopgap measure last week aimed at averting a shutdown, but the legislation has not yet cleared the Senate.
“House Democrats have taken a strong position as it relates to not giving a dime to Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine until, of course, there is dramatic reform in this country,” Jeffries said.
At one point, the Democratic leader was pressed about a CNN report about him and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) battling Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) over his meddling in a primary involving a black Democrat.
Sanders had backed Nida Allam in her unsuccessful March primary against incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC).
“No, I wouldn’t describe it as a clash. It was a candid conversation, along with Congressman Greg Meeks, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, with respect to one particular race in North Carolina,” Jeffries said.
“I do think that Senator Sanders and Democrats in both the House and the Senate understand the stakes that are in front of us, particularly as we are 100 days out, and that’s making sure that we actually take back control of the Congress, so we can end this MAGA extremism,” he added.
