Delaware progressive Senate candidate Kerri Evelyn Harris on Tuesday said she supports the idea of abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), aligning herself with fast-rising New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“I believe that we need to get rid of ICE … then reallocate the funds that are being wasted on our current use of ICE,” Harris told Hill TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”
Harris said she was initially unsure on the idea of abolishing ICE, but ultimately came to the conclusion the agency makes the U.S. “less secure.”
“I wasn’t sure it was the best route. It took me a while to decide that it was, with some research and seeing that we only recreated a system we already had. We had INS [Immigration and Naturalization Service], it was working, and when people were here that shouldn’t have been, we got rid of them,” she said.
“It makes us less secure within our borders and internationally because people are concerned [about] how we’re treating one another,” she added, referring to ICE.
Ocasio-Cortez ran on a progressive platform, which also focused on abolishing the government agency. She shocked the political world when she defeated longtime Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a primary last month. She will be the heavy favorite to win the seat in November’s general election.
Harris, who is an Air Force veteran, is challenging incumbent Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) in the state’s Democratic primary in September.
Ocasio-Cortez sent three members of her campaign staff to help Harris’s campaign earlier this month.
“We do know that we’ll never outraise my opponent, but we will outwork. That’s what working-class people do,” Harris said.
— Julia Manchester
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