HR7123-119

What This Bill Does

The Abolish ICE Act makes findings criticizing ICE's mission, enforcement practices, raids, deaths, detention conditions, citizen detentions, and use in major cities. Its operative section begins on enactment by barring federal funds from being made available to carry out any functions, duties, or responsibilities assigned or delegated to the ICE Director under the Homeland Security Act or any other law. It rescinds unobligated balances available to the ICE Director as of the day before enactment. It transfers ICE assets and liabilities to the Secretary of Homeland Security. ICE is then abolished 90 days after enactment. The bill does not specify a replacement structure for immigration detention, removal, investigations, customs enforcement, or Homeland Security Investigations work; those functions would need to be handled through the funding bar, asset transfer, and DHS reorganization choices.

Who Benefits and How

Immigrant communities, immigration-rights organizations, civil-liberties advocates, local governments opposing ICE deployments, and people in ICE detention benefit from a direct end to ICE as an agency and a cutoff of funds for ICE-directed functions. DHS leadership benefits from receiving ICE assets and liabilities rather than leaving them without a statutory custodian.

Who Bears the Burden and How

ICE employees, ICE contractors, detention facility operators, immigration prosecutors, DHS leadership, federal budgeting staff, law enforcement partners, and people relying on existing ICE case systems face major disruption. DHS must absorb assets and liabilities, manage rescinded balances, decide what happens to pending enforcement and detention operations, handle employee transitions, and reorganize any lawful functions that Congress leaves elsewhere.

Key Provisions

• Bars federal funds from being used for ICE Director functions, duties, or responsibilities beginning on enactment.
• Rescinds unobligated balances made available to the ICE Director as of the day before enactment.
• Transfers ICE assets and liabilities to the Secretary of Homeland Security.
• Abolishes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 90 days after enactment.
• Provides findings criticizing ICE enforcement, detention conditions, raids, deaths, and citizen detentions.