Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said during a town hall that discussions within the Democratic Party now extend beyond eliminating U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to potentially breaking up the entire Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Addressing constituents, Omar said that the political climate has shifted since she first entered Congress, making such proposals more mainstream within her party.

“What I will say is that there is an easier conversation happening today than six, seven years ago when I got to Congress, about what we need to do with ICE, which is to abolish it,” Omar told her audience during the townhall meeting.

She went on to indicate that broader structural changes are also being debated.

“There is a lot of conversation about what the dismantlement of the Department of Homeland Security should look like,” she added.

Omar’s remarks come amid heightened tensions over federal immigration enforcement actions in recent weeks. She and other Democratic officials, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have been outspoken in criticizing ICE operations.

ICE was established in 2003, and enforcement raids have long been part of its mandate. However, critics of the Trump administration have portrayed recent operations as part of a broader crackdown, arguing that resistance to such enforcement is necessary.

According to Breitbart News, Minnesota, led by Democrats, has seen far-left demonstrators confront federal immigration officers. The outlet reported that some elected officials, including Walz and Omar, have used strong rhetoric in response to ICE actions.

Last month, Walz, who lost the 2024 presidential election to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, warned that he might deploy the Minnesota National Guard in response to federal law enforcement activity. He also issued a broader warning to residents in other parts of the country.

“To Americans who are watching this, if you’re in Portland or you’re in L.A., or you’re in Chicago, or you’re wherever, they’re coming next,” the governor said, before urging people across the U.S. to “stand with us against this.”

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