During an interview Sunday on CNN with Jake Tapper, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) laid out Democrats’ demands to rein in federal immigration enforcement, stating that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has become a “rogue” force operating without basic safeguards followed by police departments across the country.
Pressed by Tapper on whether Democrats would accept anything short of the White House agreeing to all ten of their demands—including the firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem—Schumer said the party’s position is rooted in three core objectives: ending abusive tactics, increasing accountability, and putting an end to “secret police” behavior.
According to Schumer, the first priority is to stop the roving patrols, where federal agents conduct warrantless home raids or detain people on the street without clear cause. He also said ICE should be barred from entering sensitive locations—such as churches, schools, and polling places—and must end racial profiling. “We’re saying that they should end racial discrimination and not just pick someone up on the basis of what they look like,” Schumer stated. The agency, he further added, should be subject to closer oversight.
The second pillar, he said, is accountability. Schumer stated that ICE frequently operates without coordinating with local governments and lacks a clear use-of-force policy comparable to those used by municipal police departments. He pointed to videos he said show excessive force and insisted that such conduct is “not America.”
Lastly, Schumer emphasized what he called the most important issue: transparency. He criticized agents for wearing masks, failing to identify themselves, and not using body cameras. “We need masks off. We need cameras on,” he said, arguing that no other police force in the country operates that way.
Schumer: ‘ICE Is Rogue, Out Of Control’
Tapper noted that Republicans say ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) already have force standards, and that requiring agents to unmask could expose them and their families to threats or doxing—especially in operations targeting violent criminals or cartels.
Schumer pushed back, saying police departments across the country operate without masks and with visible identification. He insisted ICE should follow the same standards, repeating his claim that the agency has become “rogue” and needs to be reined in.
The exchange underscored the widening gap between the parties on immigration enforcement—Democrats demanding major reforms to rein in ICE’s lawlessness, and Republicans caring about the safety of the federal agents while conveniently ignoring that they needlessly shot and killed two U.S. citizens.
