February 16, 2026 | Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- Congressional Candidate David Boyd issued the following statement on the Abolishment of ICE
"Since 2003, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has completed the work of enforcing immigration laws, investigating transnational crime, and managing customs compliance. Through several presidential administrations, ICE conducted this work with due process and a focus on transparency. It did so largely without demonizing the people it was pursuing, terrorizing communities, or targeting American citizens. There was little to no fanfare, and removal operations were not manufactured to be spectacles of humiliation and intimidation.
"When a federal agency begins wearing masks to conceal officers’ identities, abducting people from the street, entering homes without judicial warrants, detaining children, converting warehouses into mass detention centers, driving recklessly on public roads, shooting and killing American citizens, and then threatening bystanders and protestors by labeling them as domestic terrorists—the agency has not only strayed from its mission and lost its way—it has violated civil, constitutional, and human rights.
"ICE has become a lawless agency, and its field officers are operating with near impunity across the United States.
"I am calling for the abolishment of ICE as we know it. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security should be reorganized by dissolving ICE and decoupling immigration enforcement from customs and trade functions. Customs and trade functions should be combined into a single agency under its original name, U.S. Customs Service, and transferred back to the U.S. Department of Treasury.
"A newly named agency should be created through federal legislation to handle immigration law enforcement and removal operations. This agency should have a clearly defined vision, mission, and objectives that are based on probable cause and due process, with a singular focus on humanity. Special oversight of this agency should be mandated for a period of ten years to ensure proper training and performance of personnel so that our government does not violate people’s rights while apprehending, detaining, and releasing them into communities around the world.
"I am also calling for the disclosure of ICE officers’ identities for transparency, and full investigations into alleged crimes committed by ICE and its operational tactics used in cities like Minneapolis, Charlotte, Chicago, and Los Angeles that have imposed trauma on American citizens, undocumented immigrants, and migrant communities throughout our country.
"Until ICE is abolished and replaced by a new agency that demonstrates civility and abides by the law, it should adhere to the ten demands agreed on by U.S. Senate and House Democrats on February 4, 2026, to reform ICE in order to safeguard our communities and protect human life.
"If elected Representative of the 6th District, I will work to abolish ICE, reorganize the Department of Homeland Security to better align with its mission to protect our homeland, and create a new agency that enforces immigration law based on probable cause, due process, and humanity."
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