Texas state Rep. James Talarico delivered a blistering critique of federal immigration enforcement during a Democratic U.S. Senate primary debate hosted by the Texas AFL-CIO, arguing for sweeping changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The debate, featuring Democratic contenders vying for their party’s nomination for a Texas Senate seat, centered heavily on border security, deportations, and how Democrats should navigate immigration policy in a state where the issue remains a defining political battleground.
Asked how he would square immigration enforcement with voters who support deportations, Talarico pointed to his family’s ties to the border and said Texans experience the issue differently than much of the country.
“My family is from the border. My mom grew up in Laredo, Texas,” he said. “Texans understand this issue of immigration more so than people in other states because we live with it — both the benefits and the challenges.”
He then offered a metaphor for how he believes the border should operate.
“Our southern border should be like our front porch,” he said. “There should be a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the door. We can welcome immigrants who want to live the American dream. We can build a pathway to citizenship for those neighbors who have been here making us richer and stronger. And we can keep out people who mean to do us harm.”
Later, moderators pressed him on whether he would abolish or defund ICE. Talarico accused the agency of serious misconduct and argued it should be replaced with a new organization focused on public safety.
“ICE shot a mother in the face. ICE kidnapped a five-year-old boy. ICE executed a man in broad daylight on our streets just this morning,” he said. “It’s time to tear down this secret police force and replace it with an agency that actually is going to focus on public safety.”
He also called for accountability at the top, along with investigations of agents accused of wrongdoing.
“We need to impeach Kristi Noem. We need to prosecute agents who’ve abused their power,” he said. “We have to haul these masked men before Congress so the world can see their faces.”
Talarico said immigration enforcement should focus primarily on organized crime rather than targeting undocumented families and long-standing residents.
“We should be cracking down on the cartels, not our communities,” he said. “We should be prosecuting gang members, not small business owners. We should be hunting down human traffickers, not moms and babies.”
When asked about funding, Talarico criticized what he described as a major recent increase in ICE resources and argued that money should be shifted back into local needs.
“We have seen this historic increase in funding for ICE. That money has come out of our healthcare,” he said. “We should take that money back and put it in our communities where it belongs.”
The exchange underscored the tensions within the Democratic field as candidates try to strike a balance between humanitarian concerns, enforcement priorities, and the political realities of running statewide in Texas.
