Chicago Congresswoman Delia Ramirez planned to unveil a sweeping proposal Wednesday that would abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, shut down the Department of Homeland Security entirely, and redirect the billions of dollars spent on federal immigration enforcement toward local family programs and community services. Ramirez planned to unveil the plan, called the Reimagining Safety Act, at a news conference in downtown Chicago.
The proposal goes further than earlier congressional efforts targeting ICE alone, calling for the dissolution of the entire Department of Homeland Security, according to FOX 32 Chicago. Ramirez was expected to be joined at the announcement by local community organizers and advocates who have worked on whistle networks, know-your-rights campaigns, observer networks and human school buses, per the same report. Advocates who back the measure said it follows what they described as a difficult year of aggressive deportation raids.
A Long Shot in a Divided Congress
The Reimagining Safety Act confronts significant opposition in a divided Congress, and its chances of passing remain uncertain, the station's report notes. Ramirez's team had not responded to a request for an interview at the time of FOX 32 Chicago's report.
The congresswoman's push is not happening in isolation. Rep. Shri Thanedar introduced a separate Abolish ICE Act on Jan. 15, 2026, according to a statement from the Office of Rep. Shri Thanedar, aiming to dismantle the agency.
DHS Pushes Back on Rhetoric Toward Agents
The Department of Homeland Security has not been silent on the growing calls to eliminate the agency. In July, DHS issued a statement criticizing local leaders and said sharp rhetoric targeting ICE was contributing to a major increase in attacks against officers, according to FOX 32 Chicago's reporting.
The funding fight underlying the debate has already played out once this year. A Senate-approved FY 2026 DHS funding bill that left ICE without dedicated appropriations was held up by House leadership for more than a month before the House passed it on April 30, 2026, ending a partial shutdown, according to Al Jazeera. The Detention Watch Network called that vote historic, saying it marked the first time Congress had passed a bill that did not provide annual appropriations for ICE. The advocacy group also said DHS had already received a $170 billion windfall from a prior reconciliation bill and that Republicans were seeking up to another $140 billion through the ongoing reconciliation process.
Competing Numbers on What DHS Still Has
Not every group agrees on how much money ICE and DHS still have on hand. The American Immigration Council has said DHS still holds nearly $150 billion from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including close to $75 billion earmarked for enforcement and detention operations — a figure that differs from Detention Watch Network's $170 billion characterization tied to a separate accounting. The council also noted that ICE has more than doubled its number of deportation officers and has proposed a $38 billion transformation of the immigration detention system.
The American Immigration Council has separately said a 2026 funding deal would withhold about $5 billion from ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations while still providing nearly $22 billion to the agency's other components, including Homeland Security Investigations, and to Customs and Border Protection. Meanwhile, the Office of the Republican Leader in the U.S. Senate has characterized the DHS funding standoff differently, accusing Democrats of keeping the department shut down for over a month in what it called a quest to defund border security and immigration law enforcement.
Where the Reimagining Safety Act goes from here remains an open question. Ramirez's proposal to eliminate the department outright enters a debate that shows no sign of settling soon.
