Rep. Henry Cuellar, a longtime Democrat representing a South Texas border district, says calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement do not reflect the views of most Democrats. More than a dozen progressive Democrats elected or reelected in the midterms embraced the slogan, but Cuellar said they represent only one part of the party. He noted that Democrats like him, often called “Blue Dogs,” support strong border policies.
“I don’t believe in defunding ICE, and I think the majority of Democrats don’t either,” Cuellar said. “But there are serious guardrails we need to put on ICE.”
He also urged Democrats not to return to the Biden administration’s approach to the border. “We just can’t open up the border and say anybody who wants to claim asylum can come to the borders,” he said, adding that he hopes Democratic candidates for national office won’t support that policy again.
Cuellar is the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee and is expected to become its chairman, a role that would give him considerable influence over ICE funding. His district includes Laredo, a major Border Patrol hub.
He has often split with his party on immigration enforcement. In January, he voted with Republicans for a Homeland Security funding bill that included billions of dollars for ICE. He later opposed a separate, Republican-backed $70 billion enforcement package, citing concerns about oversight.
Cuellar has criticized ICE for pursuing people without criminal records, while acknowledging that federal law allows the agency to arrest people for civil immigration violations. He has called for stronger oversight and said he does not consider it normal for ICE to target nuns, pastors or young immigrants known as Dreamers. He linked public reaction to the agency’s tactics with Democratic gains in Texas.
The “Abolish ICE” slogan gained prominence during the Trump administration’s enforcement operations in cities including Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago and New Orleans. The White House says those operations led to more than 1.3 million arrests and the deportation or departure of 1.2 million people in the country illegally.
Democrats and immigrant-rights advocates have criticized ICE tactics, including enforcement at courthouses, churches and workplaces, as well as conditions in detention centers. The agency also faced intense criticism after ICE agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota within weeks of each other in January 2026.
In the months afterward, Democratic governors in New York, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and Minnesota signed laws limiting cooperation between state or local agencies and federal immigration officials.
In Texas, ICE’s partnerships with local authorities have grown through 287(g) agreements, which allow local officers to assist with immigration enforcement, jail screening and administrative warrants. State law now requires most county sheriffs to seek such agreements.
Cuellar said local law enforcement should have a limited role. “I think the local sheriff should report somebody who’s here illegally. I think that’s it. Anything beyond that, I think we need to have a discussion,” he said.
Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa has also criticized ICE’s tactics. At a January rally, she faulted Gov. Greg Abbott for making state land and facilities available for federal immigration detention. As a state representative, Hinojosa voted against a 2017 bill requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with federal agencies. She has not, however, called for Texas to end all cooperation with ICE, as some Democratic-led states have done.
Cuellar said Hinojosa, who is from Brownsville, has not called for ICE to be defunded. He said he expects she supports transparency and safeguards, while adding that he did not want to speak for her.
Hinojosa has also sharply criticized Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, describing it as political grandstanding. The state operation began in March 2021, after border encounters began rising in 2020 and increased further after President Joe Biden took office. It brought together Texas Department of Public Safety officers, National Guard troops and local law enforcement to address illegal crossings, smuggling and drug trafficking. The effort later expanded to include state arrests and prosecutions for illegal entry, border barriers and the transportation of migrants.
Former Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz recently told CBS that the Biden administration sent mixed messages to migrants and that some officials had embraced the turmoil at the southern border. Cuellar agreed that the administration failed to secure the border. “The Biden administration had it wrong,” he said.
Cuellar also criticized Abbott’s deployment of Operation Lone Star, pointing to a January 2024 standoff in Eagle Pass. Texas authorities took control of Shelby Park and restricted Border Patrol access.
“You still have to work with Border Patrol, regardless of whether there’s a Democrat or a Republican in the White House,” Cuellar said. He added that Abbott should have worked more effectively with federal officials and said he hopes Hinojosa will do so as governor.
Cuellar said immigration enforcement requires balance and nuance, and that he wants to work with President Trump and Republicans in the coming two years. “There are Democrats willing to work with the administration, with President Trump, but it takes two to have a deal,” he said.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said deportations would continue. Customs and Border Protection Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham said the department’s mission was to secure the border, protect lives and control who enters the country, adding that it would work with officials committed to those aims.
