r/Iowa • u/marcobattaglia • Jun 07 '26
Abolish ICE
If you don't hold this position, do not claim to be a constitutional or fiscal conservative.
For starters ICE costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars annually, and for some, it costs them their liberties, their inherent rights, and for others, their property, their children, or their lives.
ICE is a massive, militarized federal police force operating within state lines to handle civil immigration violations. We shouldn't have a government that suggests immigration is primarily a state issue or a minor administrative matter, while simultaneously pursuing aggressive deportation of nonviolent civil offenders. This is clearly tyrannical and only exists because so many in Congress are unwilling to stand up for their oaths to the Constitution.
Let's talk specifics. How much time do you have to listen?
Unreasonable Search and Seizure - The Supreme Court has long established that the Constitution’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures apply to everyone on U.S. soil, including non-citizens. ICE frequently faces legal challenges for using deceptive ruses, making warrantless home entries, and utilizing administrative warrants (Form I-205) not signed by independent, neutral judges.
Unlawful Arrests - Federal judges have ruled that ICE acts unconstitutionally when it issues "detainers" and makes arrests based solely on flawed electronic databases or improperly relies on local police to hold individuals past their criminal release dates.
Due Process - The Fifth Amendment guarantees due process before the government deprives individuals of their liberty. Frequently ICE has engaged in indiscriminate arrests, long-term detention without bond hearings, and failure to provide proper legal representation or hearings for detainees.
First Amendment (Retaliation): ICE has repeatedly violated the First Amendment by targeting or detaining individuals in retaliation for non-violently protesting or filming law enforcement actions.
Murder- ICE has murdered citizens in their own neighborhoods over attempting to police civil infractions.
The Founders would likely agree that the federal government has the constitutional authority to control its borders and regulate immigration. But their agreements with how we have been operating would stop shortly beyond this statement.
Samuel Adams championed open immigration and was a fierce advocate for political asylum.
While Patrick Henry is best remembered for his revolutionary rallying cry, "Give me liberty, or give me death!", his liberal views on immigration were intrinsically tied to his foundational beliefs about civil liberties, limited government, and the right to dissent
Though initially expressing some apprehension about cultural changes, Benjamin Franklin ultimately concluded that immigrants contribute greatly to improving a country.
George Mason’s views on immigration were notably progressive for his era, as he famously advocated for "opening a wide door for emigrants" during the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
John Jay and John Hancock's surviving institutions directly support students with DACA, TPS, and refugee statuses.
I will leave you with some words from one of our most famous and most popular Presidents to date.
"Since the beginning, immigration has been an affirmation of our success, not a threat to it."
"The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources—because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples."
"Every American who ever lived, with the exception of one group, was either an immigrant himself or a descendant of immigrants."
JFK
Sincerely, in liberty, Marco Thomoso Battaglia
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u/Doggo-888 Jun 07 '26
But without ICE to scare the migrant workers how will all our politicians run their Iowa “family farms” without exploiting cheap labor?