Congresswoman Claims Challenger has Plan to Abolish ICE

In her most recent campaign move, U.S. Congressional incumbent Mimi Walters (R-Orange County) has sharply criticized challenger Katie Porter for her supposed plan to abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, better known as ICE.

Coming in the form of a mailer that was sent out to all constituents in the 45^th Congressional District, Walters claims the “press has reported that Katie Porter is part of a radical group of Democrats running for Congress.” In the same mailer, Walters also pronounces that Porter’s “extreme agenda” includes the support for abolishing ICE.

The ad goes on to disparage Porter for backing sanctuary city laws and advocating for free college and Medicare for illegal immigrants. All while withholding any voting records or statements from the attorney’s background.

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ccording to the Walters campaign, they told PolitiFact that the ICE charges stem from a McClatchy DC bureau article from Sept. 14, which claims Porter is among “even more liberal” candidates calling for eliminating ICE and more.

In an original version of the piece, a sentence claimed that Porter and New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez both “pushed the ideological envelope for the party’s progressive wing, even popularizing once-radical positions like single-payer health care or abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.”

While the Walters campaign decided to put the original quote on the front of their mailer, PolitiFact reported “that reference was updated and clarified in the story three days later.”

The new segment now states that the candidates have “pushed the ideological envelope for the party’s progressive wing. Porter has embraced the once-radical position of single-payer health care while Ocasio-Cortez supports abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.”

After comparing the dates between the McClatchy article and when the mailer was sent out, it appears Walter’s office had adequate time to edit their attack, but they did not.

Although recent images portraying immigrant children being separated from their families has certainly contributed to the rise in tensions surrounding the immigration department, Porter’s office has fired back saying she does not want to abolish ICE. Porter’s campaign site does indeed note that she believes in immigration reform “that will provide a fair pathway to citizenship for those who are undocumented”, however, nowhere has she openly called for ICE’s abolishment.