Actor John Leguizamo called on Democrats to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, close immigration detention centers and defend abortion rights and transgender Americans as he laid out a policy agenda for the next Congress on Friday.
In a social media video and a list of proposals, Leguizamo urged lawmakers beginning their terms in January to protect sanctuary cities, end family separations and pursue immigration reform.
“My Project 2027 starts January 3. Get it done, Democrats,” he said, listing affordable health care, Medicare for all, stronger Social Security, comprehensive gun reform and the closure of ICE detention centers among his priorities.
He also called for Stephen Miller to be tried and convicted over what he described as “ICE murders,” and urged lawmakers to impeach Todd Blanche. Other demands included overturning Citizens United to limit dark money in politics.
Leguizamo’s proposals also covered elections and government powers. He called for eliminating the Electoral College, restricting presidential pardons, ending presidential immunity and imposing term limits on Supreme Court justices.
His economic proposals included a $20 federal minimum wage, a wealth tax on billionaires, paid maternity leave and a 10% cap on credit card interest rates.
Leguizamo’s call to close detention centers echoes legislation introduced by Democratic lawmakers, though his post did not spell out how such a change would work.
Reps. Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Yvette Clarke of New York introduced the Melt ICE Act in January. Ramirez’s office said the bill would remove immigration detention authority from federal law and end existing detention contracts within two years of enactment.
The proposal would also bar new detention contracts and require the Department of Homeland Security to submit a plan within six months to remove immigrants from ankle monitors. The lawmakers’ plan would redirect funding to community organizations providing services such as housing and health care.
Ramirez later announced a broader proposal, the Reimagining Safety Act, which would dismantle DHS and replace it with a Department of Community Safety. Her office said the plan would abolish ICE and Customs and Border Protection while retaining customs functions and agencies responsible for disaster response, transportation security and cybersecurity.
Not all Democrats support cutting ICE funding. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas has previously opposed the idea, saying, “I don’t believe in defunding ICE.”
Leguizamo also criticized former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, calling for new party leadership. He said Pelosi should stop missing votes and told Jeffries and Schumer it was time to step aside.
The offices of Pelosi, Jeffries and Schumer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The actor’s latest demands follow an appeal he made to his audience in January. At the time, he told people who supported ICE to unfollow him, stay away from his shows and stop watching his films.
A DHS spokesperson said the department was carrying out President Donald Trump’s promises by arresting and deporting people in the country illegally who have been charged with or convicted of crimes, including murder, rape, child sexual abuse, gang activity and terrorism.
The spokesperson said nearly 60% of ICE arrests involve people charged with or convicted of a crime in the United States, and added that more than three million people in the country illegally had left.
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis called Leguizamo “out of touch with Americans,” saying many people view ICE officers as heroes who risk their lives to arrest dangerous criminals. She added that Trump would not allow criminal immigrants in the country illegally to enter communities.
