Bill Would Abolish DHS, ICE, CBP in Sweeping Overhaul
(MENAFN) A US House member on Tuesday unveiled legislation that would dismantle the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), eliminate two of its largest enforcement arms, and replace the department with a new federal Department of Community Safety.
Rep. Delia Ramirez introduced the Reimagining Safety Act, which would swap the existing department for a community-centered agency focused on public safety, civil rights, and support for working families.
The measure would repeal the legal authorities on which DHS rests and redirect its funding to community programs. It would also restrict government surveillance, the unlawful use of personal data, and militarized enforcement.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would be abolished outright. The bill would also start the process of building a separate civil immigration system.
Not everything would go. The proposal would keep the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and customs functions.
Ramirez said the bill was driven by concerns over immigration enforcement, detention conditions, family separations, government surveillance, and the delivery of emergency assistance.
“DHS was founded out of a profound national trauma, established to violate our rights under the pretense of securing our safety,” Ramirez said, referring to its origins in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. “But we cannot add new pains to old ones.”
To justify restructuring the department, she pointed to deaths in detention, shootings involving immigration enforcement officers, deportations to third countries, and alleged failures in disaster response.
Rep. Delia Ramirez introduced the Reimagining Safety Act, which would swap the existing department for a community-centered agency focused on public safety, civil rights, and support for working families.
The measure would repeal the legal authorities on which DHS rests and redirect its funding to community programs. It would also restrict government surveillance, the unlawful use of personal data, and militarized enforcement.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would be abolished outright. The bill would also start the process of building a separate civil immigration system.
Not everything would go. The proposal would keep the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and customs functions.
Ramirez said the bill was driven by concerns over immigration enforcement, detention conditions, family separations, government surveillance, and the delivery of emergency assistance.
“DHS was founded out of a profound national trauma, established to violate our rights under the pretense of securing our safety,” Ramirez said, referring to its origins in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. “But we cannot add new pains to old ones.”
To justify restructuring the department, she pointed to deaths in detention, shootings involving immigration enforcement officers, deportations to third countries, and alleged failures in disaster response.
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