Democrat Socialists Introduce Blueprint for National Chaos
Written by David E. Smith
U.S. Representative Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) hosted a news conference along with other left-wing elected officials and progressive advocacy organizations to announce the Reimagining Safety Act. According to her own press release, this federal legislation would:
- Establish the Department of Community Safety
- Dismantle DHS, preserving CISA, FEMA, TSA, and Customs functions
- Abolish ICE and CBP
- Reinvest funds in our communities
- Limit government surveillance, rein in unlawful abuses of data, and curb militarized enforcement
- Begin the process of establishing a separate civil immigration system
She estimated that at least $150 billion currently allocated to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could instead be redirected toward a new Department of Community Safety.
Ramirez, who co-founded the Illinois House Progressive Caucus, has made immigrant rights and open borders a central issue of her tenure in Congress. Watch this 30-minute news conference to learn more:
Speaking at this event were representatives from immigrant-rights, Muslim, Jewish, labor and anti-detention organizations. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Organized Communities Against Deportations, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, CAIR-Chicago, Warehouse Workers for Justice and Detention Watch Network came out in support of this legislative effort to dismantle DHS and dramatically restructure federal immigration enforcement.
Background
Under this radical proposal, ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would be abolished, while certain DHS functions—including FEMA, TSA, CISA and customs functions—would be preserved. The legislation would also limit federal surveillance, restrict certain uses of data, reduce what Ramirez characterized as militarized enforcement, and begin establishing a separate civil immigration system.
In the wake of open borders during the Biden Administration, where CBP recorded millions of encounters at the border and Pew Research reported the total unauthorized population reached a record 14 million in 2023, it is hard to believe that anyone paying attention would want to abolish a federal agency charged with protecting our borders, let alone a sitting Congresswoman who arrogantly asserts:
We know that an agency that was established to violate our rights under the pretense of securing our safety cannot be reformed. It must be dismantled piece by piece and something new. A system that actually honors our humanity, our dignity must be built.
Anyone who remembers the news coverage of the hordes of foreign nationals flooding across the southern border cannot help but call it an invasion. Democrats and their allies in the media want us to believe that the crisis has diminished, and that the stories of migrant crimes, homeless encampments, and panhandlers at suburban intersections are either normal or no big deal.
Ramirez and other speakers repeatedly accused ICE, CBP, and DHS of harming immigrant communities through detention, deportation, family separation, and aggressive enforcement tactics. Yet not one word was spoken about the harms being done to American families, our communities, and the massive costs to taxpayers. Nothing was said about gang members and those on the Terror Watch list who crossed the border illegally, or those carrying communicable diseases.
Alderman Jesse Fuentes (D-Chicago), who openly identifies as “a queer Latina grassroots organizer, educator, and public policy advocate,” described the work of ICE agents enforcing immigration law as “terrorizing our city, brutalizing our neighbors, and causing chaos.” She went on to claim: “We have witnessed the devastations of parents being stolen, elders being brutalized, and children being left without their caregivers.”
Illinois State Representative Hernandez followed, saying:
We cannot separate any of this from the bigger agenda of what we are witnessing a racist agenda that is disproportionately targeting black and brown immigrant communities. Treating the color of our skin, the language that we speak, and where we come from as reasons to target us and treat us if we are less human.
…
We can build a government that invests in our families instead of making them fear it. We need a government that sees our humanity.
Ironically, these emotional appeals to “compassion” and “humanity” come from elected officials who fiercely defend the “right” to abort pre-born babies in the womb.
Before turning to the activist organizations, Congresswoman Ramirez said she was intentionally working with state and local lawmakers to “help us dismantle DHS.” She then invited Lawrence Benito of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) to speak. Notably, Benito was named a Cesar Chavez Champion of Change by the Obama White House in 2013.
Antonio Gutierrez, the Strategic Coordinator for Organized Communities Against Deportations, spoke next and openly admitted his unlawful status, describing himself as an “undocumented person who has lived in the United States for 26 years.” He went on to thank Ramirez “for creating, in my experience, the first space led by an elected official to truly reimagine safety through a liberatory lens.”
Many on the left chaff at efforts to secure the border, and some advocate open borders and generous welfare benefits for new arrivals. Yet without effective border controls and background checks, we are more vulnerable to security threats and less able to stop human trafficking, drug smuggling, and potential terrorists.
The United States has welcomed immigrants and offered refuge to people in need, and it can continue to do so while requiring lawful entry and treating every person with dignity. But true compassion also means protecting our communities, upholding the rule of law, and prioritizing the safety of the American citizens our elected officials swore an oath to serve.
Tags: Antonio Gutierrez, Biden Administration, CAIR-Chicago, Cesar Chavez Champion of Change, Customs and Border Protection, Delia Ramirez, Department of Community Safety, Department of Homeland Security, Gracia Guzman, Graciela Guzmán, illegal immigrants, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Jesse Fuentes, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Justice and Detention Watch Network, Lawrence Benito, Lilian Jiménez, Maura Hirschauer, Norma Hernandez, Obama Administration, Organized Communities Against Deportations, Palenque LSNA, Reimagining Safety Act, Viviana Barajas, Warehouse Workers
Federal Issues, Immigration | David E. Smith | 
September 25, 2026 5:00 AM
