New campaign calls on Congress to dismantle ICE, end immigration detention, and support the MELT ICE Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Free Speech For People announced the launch of a new national campaign and website calling for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the end of immigration imprisonment in the United States.

The campaign includes a public petition, educational resources, and organizing tools aimed at mobilizing Americans to demand that Congress dismantle ICE and replace it with immigration policies that respect constitutional rights, human dignity, and democratic values.

“Twenty-four years ago, Congress created a heavily armed immigration enforcement agency and placed it under the direct control of the executive branch,” said John Bonifaz, President and co-founder of Free Speech For People. “In the years since, ICE has repeatedly been used to target some of our country’s most vulnerable communities while eroding fundamental civil liberties. Our democracy cannot tolerate a federal agency that operates with this level of power and impunity.”

Created in 2002, ICE has grown into a vast enforcement apparatus with tens of thousands of agents and a detention system that relies heavily on privately run immigration prisons. Free Speech For People argues that the agency’s structure—combining civil immigration enforcement with counterterrorism authority—has made it particularly vulnerable to political abuse.

The organization warns that under the administration of Donald Trump, ICE has increasingly been used to intimidate communities, suppress dissent, and target political opponents.

“ICE has been transformed into a political weapon,” the organization said in its campaign statement. “Agents wearing masks and carrying weapons have been deployed to seize people in their homes, workplaces, and communities. Detention has become a mechanism of punishment, not a lawful tool of immigration administration.”

As part of the campaign, Free Speech For People is directing supporters to urge Congress to support the MELT ICE Act, recently introduced by Representatives Delia C. Ramirez and Yvette Clarke. The legislation would eliminate funding for immigration detention and monitoring programs run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, terminate existing detention contracts, and redirect billions of dollars currently spent on immigration enforcement toward community-based services such as housing, healthcare, and legal support.

The legislation would also prohibit new detention contracts, require the phase-out of electronic monitoring programs such as ankle monitors, and redirect ICE funding to community organizations that provide wrap-around services for immigrant communities.

Advocates say the bill offers a concrete legislative pathway to dismantle the immigration detention system while investing resources in community safety and stability.

As part of the launch, Free Speech For People is urging supporters across the country to sign a public petition demanding that lawmakers abolish ICE and end immigration imprisonment.

“ICE does not serve the American people or the best interests of our country,” the campaign states. “In this 24-year experiment, it has become clear that the agency is not protecting our democracy; it is undermining it. It is past time for Congress to abolish ICE and put an end to immigration detention.”

The Abolishing ICE campaign will include ongoing advocacy, public education, and grassroots organizing aimed at building national momentum for structural reform of the U.S. immigration enforcement system and advancing legislation such as the MELT ICE Act.

Supporters can learn more and sign the petition at the campaign website.