A progressive House Democrat is pushing legislation to completely dismantle the Department of Homeland Security and eliminate Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a federal raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington home and a controversial ICE shooting in New York City.
Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois announced the proposal Tuesday, calling for sweeping changes to the federal government’s immigration enforcement and domestic security operations. Her legislation, titled the Reimagining Safety Act, would abolish DHS, eliminate immigration detention and establish a new federal agency focused on community safety initiatives.
The proposal represents a significant escalation in Democratic efforts to challenge President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies. While some Democrats have called for reforming ICE, Ramirez wants to dismantle the larger department responsible for border security, immigration enforcement and several other national security functions.
Ramirez pointed to Monday’s search of Omar’s residence and last week’s shooting of Oscar Belgal in the Bronx as examples of what she considers an increasingly dangerous federal enforcement system.
The Illinois Democrat accused DHS of using its authority against immigrant communities and political opponents, arguing that the agency’s problems extend beyond the current administration.
Ramirez said the time had come to fundamentally restructure federal law enforcement, including abolishing ICE and ending what she considers excessive government surveillance and immigration detention.
Her legislation would replace the Department of Homeland Security with a newly created Department of Community Safety. The proposed agency would direct federal resources toward violence prevention programs, community-based public safety initiatives and other alternatives to traditional enforcement.
The bill would also redistribute several existing DHS responsibilities among other federal departments rather than eliminate every function currently performed by the agency.
Under the proposal, the Department of Justice would assume responsibility for immigration enforcement, while the Treasury Department would oversee customs enforcement operations.
The Department of Transportation would take control of the Coast Guard, which currently operates under Homeland Security during peacetime.
The legislation would also place new restrictions on the federal government’s national security authorities, including limiting the secretary of state’s ability to designate foreign organizations as terrorist groups.
Those changes would represent a major restructuring of the federal government’s security operations, potentially affecting how agencies coordinate immigration enforcement, counterterrorism investigations and border-related responsibilities.
DHS was established in 2002 following the September 11 terrorist attacks and began operations in 2003. The department consolidated numerous federal agencies to improve coordination and information sharing in response to threats against the United States.
Its responsibilities now extend far beyond immigration enforcement. The department includes agencies involved in border protection, transportation security, disaster response, cybersecurity, presidential protection and investigations into transnational crime.
Ramirez argues that the department’s broad authority has contributed to government overreach. She maintains that its enforcement practices have disproportionately affected immigrant communities and Americans who challenge federal policies.
The legislation follows Monday’s early morning search of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence by agents from Homeland Security Investigations.
Federal investigators executed a search warrant authorized by a judge as part of an ongoing criminal investigation reportedly involving Omar’s immigration paperwork and family immigration history.
Border czar Tom Homan confirmed that investigators had presented evidence to a federal judge before receiving authorization to search the congresswoman’s property.
Omar, a Somalia-born Democrat representing Minnesota, has repeatedly denied allegations of immigration fraud. She accused the Trump administration of using federal law enforcement to intimidate political opponents and declared that she would not be silenced.
President Trump denied personally directing the search, maintaining that the investigation was a matter for the Justice Department.
Federal authorities have not announced criminal charges against Omar, and the existence of a search warrant does not establish that she committed a crime.
The raid drew immediate condemnation from Democratic congressional leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who questioned the timing of the operation just weeks before the November midterm elections.
Ramirez also cited the October 8 shooting of Oscar Belgal during an ICE enforcement operation in New York City.
Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican man, was shot by a federal immigration officer during an attempted arrest in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx.
Authorities said plainclothes ICE agents approached Belgal while he was inside a vehicle with a 5-year-old child. When the vehicle moved forward during the encounter, an officer fired multiple shots, striking Belgal near the neck.
The child was not injured. Belgal survived the shooting and received medical treatment before being taken into federal custody.
Homeland Security officials defended the operation, pointing to Belgal’s criminal history and pending charges. The department argued that local sanctuary policies had complicated federal efforts to take him into custody.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul criticized the shooting and questioned the tactics used by federal immigration agents.
The incident prompted demonstrations and renewed calls from progressive lawmakers to restrict ICE operations in major American cities.
Ramirez’s proposal combines those concerns into a broader effort to eliminate the federal department overseeing immigration enforcement.
The legislation arrives during an election cycle in which immigration policy has become a central disagreement between Republicans and Democrats.
President Trump has made border security and immigration enforcement major priorities of his administration, while progressive Democrats have increasingly challenged the methods used by federal agents.
However, the proposal to abolish DHS goes substantially further than the positions taken by many Democratic leaders, who have advocated oversight measures and changes to enforcement practices rather than eliminating the department.
The bill faces significant obstacles in Congress. Republicans currently control both the House and Senate, and there is little indication that the legislation has enough support to advance through either chamber.
Congress is also in recess until after the November 3 midterm elections, further limiting the possibility of immediate legislative action.
Even if Democrats regain control of Congress, dismantling DHS would require extensive negotiations over the future of its agencies, employees, funding and national security responsibilities.
For now, Ramirez’s legislation highlights a growing debate over the federal government’s immigration enforcement powers and the role of Homeland Security.
While the Trump administration continues defending its immigration crackdown as necessary to enforce federal law, Ramirez and her progressive allies are demanding a far more dramatic response: eliminating DHS and ICE entirely and replacing the current system with a fundamentally different approach to public safety.
The post House Democrat Introduces Bill to Abolish Homeland Security and ICE Following Ilhan Omar Raid and NYC Shooting appeared first on Real News Now.
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