8th District Democratic hopefuls debate ICE changes, Noem exit
The eight Democrats seeking to succeed Raja Krishnamoorthi in the 8th Congressional District recently discussed how they would curb what they see as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement exceeding its legal authority under President Donald Trump.
Vying for their party’s nomination in the March 17 primary are Junaid Ahmed of South Barrington; Yasmeen Bankole of Hanover Park; Melissa Bean of Barrington; Sanjyot Dunung of Des Plaines; Neil Khot of Hoffman Estates; Kevin Morrison of Mount Prospect; Dan Tully of Carol Stream; and Ryan Vetticad of South Barrington.
They discussed their views on ICE during interviews with the Daily Herald editorial board.
In his second term as Cook County Board Commissioner for the 15th District, Morrison said he led efforts at the county level to enforce the rights of ICE detainees to appear before a judge. He favors abolishing Trump’s version of ICE, blocking additional funding and impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Dunung, a Des Plaines businessperson who serves on the boards of the National Small Business Association and Truman Center for National Policy, said she would take ICE back to its 2024 version. She blames the current situation on both parties for failing to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
Systematic reform should make it easier for people to follow the rules and clear out the backlog of visa applications within 12 to 18 months, Dunung said. Noem should lose her job while some of the funding ICE is receiving should be invested in local law enforcement instead, she added.
Bean, who served three terms in House from 2005 to 2011, said it’s not surprising Trump would put someone like Noem in charge of DHS and redirect funding from health care to ICE. She also wants Noem gone and ICE officers made liable for actions exceeding their legal authority.
Vetticad, a 24-year-old who resigned from the Department of Justice in protest of its direction under Trump last year, said ICE needs to be reined in from some of its actions. They include an incident in Elgin where agents used tear gas against protesters who gathered after a man was pursued into an apartment complex.
He added that Trump’s rhetoric about going after “rapists and murderers” doesn’t ring true and Noem should be removed. He noted everyone in the race hails from a family that immigrated to the U.S.
Ahmed, a tech firm owner who challenged Krishnamoorthi in the 2022 primary, said he has experience from six years ago successfully lobbying the state to close an ICE detention facility in McHenry County. He added officers must be held accountable for their actions and Noem impeached.
Bankole, a second-term Hanover Park village trustee who works in U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s office, said she successfully pushed for an ordinance prohibiting ICE from operating on village-owned property. She called the agency “a rogue government entity” responsible for many dehumanizing actions in the past year, and would support the dismantling of today’s ICE as well as Noem’s impeachment.
Khot, a Hoffman Estates business owner, said ICE has shown no regard for human life and needs to stop operating with masks and without body-worn cameras. Officers who should be held accountable for their actions, he added.
Tully, who touts his combination of military and legal experience, said a Democrat-led House can create a commission on ICE accountability and figure out who was who in the same way those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were identified.
He said Congress should stop Noem and have her justify the actions occurring under her direction.
The winner of the Democratic primary will face a Republican candidate in the November general election. The GOP hopefuls are Kevin Ake of Elk Grove Village; Jennifer Davis of Huntley; Herbert Hebein of Chicago; and Mark Rice of Arlington Heights.
The 8th District includes portions of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties.