Democratic lawmakers are now calling to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) along with impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following a fatal shooting that took place in Minnesota on January 7, 2026. However, the push to defund the immigration enforcement agency is causing quite a few headaches for lead Democrats, as earlier in the week, they stated that any attempts to take away ICE’s funding is not an option on the table.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), along with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), both said that right now, their top priority is the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, not yanking funding from ICE, a statement that is surely going to upset many on the left who are now worked up over the tragic incident that unfolded in Minnesota.
“Certainly everyone in that room, at least on my side, is livid at what happened to this woman,” Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), who has made calls in the past for a government shutdown to defund ICE, stated regarding the death of a 37-year-old woman. “Not just a resident of Minnesota, a U.S. citizen… a 37-year-old White woman, was shot, and then they lied about it.”
According to Fox News, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weighed in on the shooting, saying, “They’re disappearing people off the street, and this has nothing to do with citizenship at all, increasingly, in who they’re going after.” The woman who died is alleged to have attempted to run over an ICE agent with her vehicle, after ignoring several commands from law enforcement to get out of her vehicle.
Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) stated that she has plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Noem in the near future. “Secretary Kristi Noem is an incompetent leader, a disgrace to our democracy, and I am impeaching her for obstruction of justice, violation of public trust, and self-dealing,” Kelly went on to say. “Secretary Noem wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area, and now, her rogue ICE agents have unleashed that same destruction in Minneapolis, fatally shooting Renee Nicole Good.”
What has some Republicans concerned is that there is a possibility that Democrats could have some success in defunding ICE, though the chances of them impeaching Noem are very low. “Democrats cannot vote for a DHS budget that doesn’t restrain the growing lawlessness of this agency,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) stated. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) shares Murphy’s feelings on the matter, stating that Congress cannot “keep authorizing money for these illegal killers,” going on to call ICE a “rogue force.”
Democratic leaders have been ratcheting up the anti-ICE rhetoric following the shooting, which has led to explosive protests requiring local law enforcement to deploy pepper spray and pepper balls to help control unruly crowds. One example of such rhetoric comes from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
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Following the January 7 shooting, the mayor told ICE to “get the f**k out of the city,” claiming the agency is responsible for the chaos that has seemingly engulfed the city. “We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite. People are being hurt, families are being ripped apart,” Frey said.
Watch JD Vance warn of left-wing networks attacking ICE: