On a day when many progressive members of the Democratic Party are marching against detention of migrant children, Bernie Sanders is drawing sharp criticism from the left over his refusal to join the call for the abolition of ICE.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) is facing rebuke from progressive activists and the far left of the Democratic Party for declining to call for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Earlier this week during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" with Jake Tapper, Sanders was asked whether he supported abolishing ICE, the federal agency responsiblefor preventing cross-border crime and illegal immigration.
The senator was conspicuously ambiguous in his answer, refusing to call for abolition and expressing general support for "a national program" to "deal with immigration in a rational way."
While Sanders is not the only Democrat who has declined to call for the dismantling of ICE, many on the left who have traditionally supported him are outraged, calling him “weak” and “timid” on the issue.
Sanders’ failure to come out strongly against ICE — combined with poorly-timed statements scolding the Red Hen Restaurant for refusing to serve Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this week — have some of the senator’s strongest supporters wondering if he is still the voice of the left, or if his recent rise into the nation’s top 1% of wage earners is tarnishing his image as a warrior for the working class.