Our communities are stronger with immigrants. They are our neighbors, family members, loved ones, students, business owners, and friends. As a Quaker organization, AFSC is guided by our belief in the inherent worth of every person. All people should be treated with dignity and have their rights respected, no matter where they were born or how they came to the U.S.
Imagine an immigration system where families stay together. Where people seeking safety or opportunity are met with support, not armed agents. Where our tax dollars go toward health care, education, and ways to help everyone thrive—not funding a deportation force. That’s the world we’re working to create.
But we can’t build that world while Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tears apart families and terrorizes our communities. That's why AFSC joins people across the country in calling to abolish ICE.
Here's what you need to know:
What is ICE and what does it do?
ICE was created in 2003 as part of a broad expansion of national security enforcement during the U.S. government’s “war on terror.” That expansion included mass surveillance, aggressive policing, increased racial profiling, and the treatment of immigration primarily as a security issue rather than a human or economic one.
As part of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE treats immigrants as security threats rather than as people who are part of our communities. Its main purpose is to detain and deport immigrants.
As if this writing, an estimated 68,000 people are jailed in immigrant detention facilities daily. Since January 2025, more than 390,000 people have been deported—each one a family member, neighbor, or friend torn from our communities. People detained by ICE are often taken to detention centers far from their loved ones, almost always in inhumane living conditions. They do not have a right to legal representation in immigration proceedings.
In 2025 alone, ICE got more than $28 billion in federal funding. That’s money that could instead be invested in health care, schools, food assistance, jobs, and other programs that actually make our communities safer and stronger.
Why is AFSC calling to abolish ICE?
Because the very mission of ICE is at odds with values we hold dear—treating all people with dignity and respect. An agency created to tear apart communities cannot be reformed into one that strengthens them.
Since its inception, ICE has routinely violated human rights. ICE agents and police officers colluding with ICE engage in racial profiling, warrantless searches, detention without probable cause, and fabrication of evidence. Millions of people have had their lives destroyed by detention and deportation.
Since January 2025, ICE has dramatically increased its use of violent tactics. In cities and towns around the U.S., armed masked agents have grabbed people from their homes, cars, workplaces, near schools, and at courthouses and routine immigration check-ins.
The murders of Renee Good and Silverio Villegas González by ICE agents are among the most recent examples of the deadly violence inherent in the agency. Violence and terror are at the core of how ICE operates.
ICE provides substandard medical care to those in detention, which has proven deadly. In 2025, 32 people died in ICE custody—the highest number ever since the agency’s creation. Beyond these deaths, there is no shortage of documented accounts of ICE abuse and neglect in detention, including violent physical and sexual assaults, chronic food shortages, and unsanitary conditions.
Despite this long history of human rights violations, ICE has remained unaccountable to the courts, to our communities, and to Congress, which has repeatedly urged ICE to improve detention standards and address fiscal mismanagement. The agency has largely ignored these demands.
Can ICE be abolished?
Yes. The idea of abolishing a government agency isn’t radical—continuing to fund a violent deportation force is what’s extreme. And abolishing a government agency isn’t unprecedented. Various administrations—both Republican and Democratic—have created and dissolved agencies based on changing needs and politics.
The real question isn’t whether ICE can be abolished. It’s how we build the political will to make that happen.
The U.S. public wants change. Three-quarters of people in the U.S. say they support a welcoming, dignified, and just immigration system. And as ICE's violence has escalated, public support for abolishing ICE is growing. A January 2026 poll found that 46% of Americans support abolishing ICE, compared to 43% who oppose it. When people see what ICE actually does, they are ready for structural change.
Abolishing ICE means we stop treating immigration as a military operation and start treating it as what it is—people seeking safety and stability in the U.S.
We don't need an abusive police force to arrest people for their immigration status and deport them from our communities, we need clear and fair ways for people to access immigration status based on needs. ICE’s functions are harmful and unnecessary—and could be performed by other agencies in ways that respect our rights and human dignity.
What would replace ICE?
We don’t need to replace ICE with more militarized enforcement. Our immigration system should be grounded in human rights. It should build on things we know can create safe, healthy communities—like access to health care and education for all.
There are many alternatives to ICE that are more effective, more humane, and far less costly. That includes legal services, case management, social services, and other community-based support. These approaches help people navigate immigration processes while keeping families together—creating stability in our communities rather than chaos.
What can we do to stop ICE?
1. Tell elected officials: Keep ICE out of our communities.
Congress must do more to protect families and communities against brutal immigration enforcement. Demand that they keep ICE and Border Patrol out of our communities. Urge them to support an end to detention and deportations.
2. Pressure local officials to stop helping ICE.
ICE relies on local law enforcement to carry out raids and detentions. We can pressure our cities, counties, states, and schools. Demand they end cooperation with ICE, refuse to share information about residents, and adopt sanctuary policies to protect all community members.
3. Support immigrants in our communities.
Volunteer your time. Support organizations that provide legal services, know your rights trainings, and offer sanctuary in places of worship. Accompany immigrants as they go through court processes, ICE check-ins, or other appointments. Take part in ICE watch programs at courthouses and in your community.
Show up for protests, vigils, and other events. Our actions can garner public attention, put pressure on elected officials, and engage others in our efforts.
