AI-written summary of reporting by Associated Press. No human editor reviewed this. AI can misread or omit facts — read the original, linked below.
ABSTRACT

The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday at its summer meeting in Austin, Texas, to approve two competing resolutions on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — one calling for the agency's abolition and another calling for its reform — exposing an internal party divide ahead of the midterm elections.

Associated Press

DNC approves dueling resolutions on abolishing vs. reforming ICE

DNC approves dueling resolutions on abolishing vs. reforming ICE
Aug 15, 2026, 2:53 PM

The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday at its summer meeting in Austin, Texas, to approve two competing resolutions on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — one calling for the agency's abolition and another calling for its reform — exposing an internal party divide ahead of the midterm elections.

Context

The DNC's summer meeting also produced votes on a range of other policy positions, including one that calls for 'concrete reforms' of ICE. Saturday's vote is non-binding and does not set the party's platform; that will be determined at the 2028 convention. Individual candidates and lawmakers will continue to determine their own positions on the issue.

The push to abolish ICE originated as a progressive rallying cry in 2018 during President Donald Trump's first administration. Calls to abolish the agency have been renewed among some Democrats following two fatal shootings by ICE agents in July, according to the source.

Michele Johnson, a DNC member from Louisiana, proposed the measure to abolish ICE and cited the dissolution of ICE's predecessor agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as a precedent for such action.

All Perspectives
Michele Johnson, DNC member (Louisiana), pro-abolition: Johnson said it is time for Democrats to take a stand, arguing: 'I think one of the reasons why people are not trusting the party is because we sound so academic. We sound focus group tested, we sound poll tested because we're worried about saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing and not just like, just stand on business, like take a position.'
Position not represented in the source reporting: Proponents of the ICE reform resolution — no named advocate or stated rationale for the reform position appears in the source.
Gaps & Unknowns
  • The source does not state the vote counts for either resolution.
  • The source does not identify who proposed the reform resolution or quote any member who supported reform over abolition.
  • The source does not describe what specific changes the 'concrete reforms' resolution calls for.
  • The source does not state what other policy positions were approved at the summer meeting beyond the two ICE resolutions.
  • The source does not identify which midterm races or candidates are most directly affected by the internal disagreement.
  • The source text supplied appears truncated; some material may be missing.
Sources & Further Reading
  1. Associated Press — original

Read the original at Associated Press

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