The chants of "abolish ICE" have thundered through American streets once more, reignited by a fatal shooting in Minneapolis that has cast a harsh spotlight on US immigration enforcement. The death of Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three and US citizen, at the hands of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on 7 January has catalysed a fresh wave of national outrage and protest, propelling a demand that first gained traction eight years ago back to the forefront of political discourse.
The Spark and the Surge
Mass demonstrations erupted across the United States following the shooting of Good, with protestors hoisting signs and demanding the dismantling of the federal agency. This visceral public response is underscored by a significant shift in public opinion. A new Economist/YouGov poll reveals that, for the first time, more US adults support eliminating ICE than oppose it. The sentiment has drawn support from a broad coalition, including progressive lawmakers like Representative Ayanna Pressley and even conservative commentator Bill Kristol. Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar of Michigan has announced plans to introduce the "Abolish ICE Act," legislation aimed at dismantling the agency.
The anger, however, extends beyond a single tragic incident. The year 2025 marked a grim milestone, with 32 people dying in ICE custody, the agency's deadliest year in two decades. Simultaneously, aggressive worksite raids in cities including Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago have led to thousands of arrests, often without due process, triggering local protests demanding accountability for alleged human rights abuses.
Roots and the First Rise
To long-time immigrant rights activists, the current reckoning carries a sense of déjà vu. The "abolish ICE" slogan first exploded into the national consciousness during the sweltering summer of 2018, a rallying cry against the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant families. It was a phrase that seemed to emerge overnight, popularised by a viral tweet from political strategist Sean McElwee, but its foundations were laid by years of grassroots organising led by undocumented immigrants.
"The central assumption of ICE in 2018 is that any undocumented immigrant is inherently a threat," McElwee wrote that year, drawing parallels between the agency's tactics and racist ideologies. The movement gained enough momentum to influence electoral politics, most notably with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez making dismantling ICE a central plank of her successful 2018 primary campaign. However, the momentum proved fleeting. Democratic party leaders, fearing the slogan was too divisive, allowed it to fade from mainstream discourse, even as deportations continued under the subsequent Biden administration.
Setbacks and Strategic Lessons
The movement's decline during the Biden years, activists argue, was due to a lack of political will in Washington. "The movement didn't know how to pressure the Biden administration because they didn't signal they cared to do much about immigration," said Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network. The focus shifted from interior enforcement to border crises, and legislative efforts pivoted towards reforming rather than abolishing ICE.
This period exposed a critical strategic challenge. Juan Prieto of the Immigrant Legal Resource Centre pointed to a failure of "political imagination" within the Democratic party, which capitulated to right-wing narratives instead of harnessing grassroots energy. The movement also grappled with its own scope; for many activists, simply abolishing ICE is insufficient if the underlying systems of policing, detention, and deportation remain intact. "Abolishing ICE needs to be the floor, not the pinnacle," emphasised Shah.
A Movement Reforged and Looking Forward
Despite these setbacks, the 2018 campaign laid essential groundwork. It fostered "know your rights" workshops, rapid-response networks for raid targets, and campaigns to shut down detention centres. "ICE losing credibility in the public's eye, the recognition of how much power there is in showing up, all that is thanks to the work that happened under the first eruption," Prieto stated.
The killing of Renee Nicole Good has now provided a catalyst for resurgence, channelling a collective outrage reminiscent of 2018. Organisers like Jacinta González note that while the political stakes and dangers are higher today, the community-building work has never ceased. The task now, advocates argue, is to transform this moment of outrage into lasting structural change. This requires moving beyond the singular goal of dismantling ICE towards a broader vision that abolishes all interconnected systems of immigrant policing and detention.
"It's coming to terms with the reality that we're living in and really having the political imagination necessary to get us out," Prieto concluded. "Our opposition has a vision of an authoritarian white nationalist utopia that they're working day in and day out to accomplish. I don't think our leaders have that level of progressive envisioning." The movement's future may depend on whether its renewed momentum can forge that visionary path forward.
