Democrats told voters they learned their lesson after Trump's landslide.
But one Massachusetts congresswoman couldn't keep her mouth shut.
And Ayanna Pressley just exposed the Democrats' dirty secret they tried to bury after 2024.
Squad Member Revives "Abolish ICE" Movement After Minneapolis Shooting
Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley doubled down on her years-long crusade to abolish ICE during an MS-NOW interview on Sunday.
Pressley called the agency "unconstitutional, unlawful, cruel, rogue, racist" and claimed ICE was "terrorizing communities" across America.
The Squad member didn't stop there.
Pressley declared ICE agents were "lawless masked thugs" operating without "any constitutional due diligence."
Her rant came days after ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis on January 7.
Federal authorities said Good attempted to run over Ross after he approached her stopped vehicle during immigration enforcement operations.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem defended the shooting and released video footage showing the confrontation.
But Pressley claimed DHS was lying and demanded ICE be removed from American cities entirely.
Democrats can't quit their woke obsessions
The "Abolish ICE" movement defined Democrats' hard-left turn during Trump's first term.
The position became a litmus test for 2020 presidential candidates including Kamala Harris, who said America should "probably think about starting from scratch" with ICE.
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders all embraced calls to dismantle the agency.
Democrats promised after November's crushing defeat that they would ditch woke policies alienating ordinary Americans.
Party leaders buried their 2024 autopsy report rather than face the damning conclusions about their embrace of far-left positions.
But the base never changed.
YouGov polling from November showed 85% of Democrat voters disapprove of ICE, with another 76% backing protests against the agency.
House Oversight Committee Blocks Investigation Into Renee Good Death
Protests erupted across the country after Good's death.
More than 1,000 demonstrations took place over the weekend in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington, D.C.
Protesters chanted "ICE out now" and carried signs demanding federal immigration enforcement leave their communities.
Minneapolis descended into chaos Friday night when protesters targeted downtown hotels believed to be housing ICE agents.
Police arrested 30 people after demonstrators damaged property and threw ice chunks at officers.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the National Guard as tensions escalated.
The Trump administration responded by deploying hundreds of additional federal agents to Minneapolis.
Pressley filed a motion in the House Oversight Committee to subpoena all records and footage related to the shooting.
Republicans blocked it.
The Massachusetts Democrat claimed the vote proved Republicans "have never cared about law and order or keeping our communities safe."
But Pressley's real goal was clear.
She wants to revive the anti-police, anti-ICE rhetoric that helped Democrats lose working-class voters.
Minneapolis residents witnessed six weeks of aggressive ICE operations before Good's death.
DHS launched the largest immigration enforcement operation in history on January 6, deploying 2,000 agents to the Twin Cities area targeting welfare fraud and illegal immigration in sanctuary cities.
Pressley ran for Congress in 2018 unseating 10-term incumbent Mike Capuano explicitly on a promise to abolish ICE.
Now she's using Minneapolis to resurrect the exact policies that cost Democrats the election.
Voters remembered Harris's "start from scratch" comments about ICE when they crushed her in November.
Pressley just reminded everyone why Democrats can't be trusted on immigration.
Sources:
- Fox News, "Squad member Ayanna Pressley calls to abolish ICE, labels agency 'racist'," January 12, 2026.
- American Conservative, "After Minneapolis, Democrats Revive 'Abolish ICE'," January 8, 2026.
- Wikipedia, "Killing of Renee Good," January 12, 2026.
- CNN, "Anti‑ICE protests held across US after agent's fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis," January 11, 2026.
- RealClearPolitics, "Rep. Ayanna Pressley: ICE Is A Racist, Lawless, Rogue Agency 'Terrorizing Communities'," January 11, 2026.
- Washington Post, "Abolish ICE: Where 2020 Democrats stand," April 8, 2020.
