Ramirez Introduces the Reimagining Safety Act, Legislation to Dismantle DHS, Abolish ICE, Reimagine Community Safety

Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Ranking Member of a Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee, introduced the Reimagining Safety Act, a legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and create the Department of Community Safety. The landmark community-led legislation would create a new human- and community-centered federal department that promotes collective safety, repeal the authorities that give DHS  its power, and redirect DHS funds to programs that working families rely on. 

The Reimagining Safety Act is a first-of-its-kind bill and the first time community stakeholders designed a cabinet-level department. The Reimagining Safety Act would:

1. Establish the Department of Community Safety
2. Dismantle DHS, preserving the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and Customs functions 
3. Abolish ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
4. Reinvest funds in our communities
5. Limit government surveillance, rein in unlawful abuses of data, and curb militarized enforcement
6. Begin the process of establishing a separate civil immigration system

“Every person dead in detention, shot or killed by ICE and CBP, every neighbor deported to a third country, every family separated, every community FEMA failed, every miscarriage due to substandard care, every dissenter wrongfully branded, targeted, and persecuted as ‘terrorist,’ and every threat against our elections by Trump, Markwayne, and Miller is a reason DHS must be dismantled and something new must take its place. There are more than a million reasons to take action today,” said Congresswoman Ramirez. “DHS was founded out of a profound national trauma, established to violate our rights under the pretense of securing our safety. But we cannot add new pains to old ones.”

The introduction follows a community press action on September 23, when Congresswoman Ramirez stood with Illinois public officials, civil society, and community members to announce the Reimagining Safety Act.

“Instead of the weapon DHS has proven to be, we need a department built on the best parts of who we are and can be, and the best examples of how we can take care of each other in hard times. I am proud to have led that work with the organizations in my district and nationally,” added Ramirez. “Building something new, creating in a time of destruction,  is a revolutionary act. It is proof of our hope and belief in what is possible even in dark times. A different world is possible because the people have the power to reshape our government and reimagine how we cultivate safety and collective well-being.”

The legislation’s original cosponsors include Congressmembers Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), and Jim McGovern (MA-02). The bill is endorsed by a coalition of more than 40 national and local cross-issue organizations, including Muslims for Just Futures, Casa DuPage Workers Center, Latino Union of Chicago, Muslim Civic Coalition, Organized Communities Against Deportations, La Casita de ut ac, Albergue Tochan Nuestra Casa, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, AL OTRO LADO, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Free Speech for People, Immigration Advocacy Law Group, Decolonize Sudan, The Right to Immigration Institute/Dignidad, American Friends Service Committee, Servicio Internacional para la Paz, Global Exchange, Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County, Council on American-Islamic Relations Chicago (CAIR-Chicago), US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action, Center for Constitutional Rights, Alliance of South Asians Taking Action Power (ASTA Power), Women Cross DMZ, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Arise Chicago, Palenque LSNA, Zero Hour, MADRE, Mijente, Indivisible Chicago Alliance, Grassroots Collaborative, Warehouse Workers for Justice, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA), Rising Majority Action Front, IL Poor People’s Campaign, Sustainable Economies Law Center, National Nurses United, Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), Defending Rights & Dissent, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, DREAM of Detroit, and United States Solidarity Economy Network, Charity and Security Network, Muslim Advocates, IMEU Policy Project, and Detention Watch Network.

For quotes of endorsing organizations, CLICK HERE. 

For the full text of the legislation, CLICK HERE. 

For a summary of the legislation, CLICK HERE. 

Background:

The legislation comes as DHS-related violence continues to occur around the country, with the most recent shooting in New York. To this day, 58 people have died in ICE custody since January 2025, especially in for-profit private detention centers with limited oversight. For more than a year, IL-03 has been targeted, terrorized, and attacked by DHS with zero accountability. And over the last 23 years of the Department of Homeland Security, the agency has targeted and criminalized communities, militarized enforcement, and expanded the surveillance state. Congresswoman Ramirez has led the calls for accountability of DHS and its leadership. 

• In January 2026, Congresswoman Ramirez and Congressman Seth Magaziner (RI-02) announced the DHS Use of Force Oversight Act to statutorily require a DHS policy on the use of force and de-escalation by agents.
• In January 2026, Congresswoman Ramirez led 71 members of Congress to demand the House Committee on the Judiciary immediately start investigation hearings on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s unlawful and potentially impeachable actions.
• In January 2026, Congresswoman Ramirez introduced the Melt ICE Act to end DHS’s funding to detain or monitor immigrants, disrupt immigration enforcement, and redirect funding toward wrap-around services for communities affected by immigration enforcement. 
• In July 2026, Congresswoman Ramirez and Congressman Takano (CA-39) launched an investigation into reports that VA delayed processing ICE medical reimbursement claims.
• In August 2026, Congresswoman Ramirez led 28 colleagues in opening an investigation into a new data-sharing agreement between TSA and ICE that has resulted in a spike in immigration enforcement activities at airports across the country.
• In September 2026, Congresswoman Ramirez and Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (PA-04) introduced the No Shock Act to ban the use of “shock gloves” by ICE.
• In September 2026, Congresswoman Ramirez and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) led 22 colleagues in opening an investigation into the fraud, corruption, and coercion of DHS’s “Project Homecoming.”
• In September 2026, Congresswoman Ramirez led 8 members of the Illinois Congressional delegation in requesting that the Office of the Inspector General investigate Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) agents for a pattern of misconduct, unconstitutional uses of force, and potential criminal violations during immigration enforcement operations, including “Operation Midway Blitz.” 
• In September 2026, Congresswoman Ramirez joined Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11) and Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02) to introduce the CISA Force Structure Assessment Act.
• In October 2026, Congresswoman Ramirez and Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) introduced H.R.10698, the ICE Shootings Transparency Act, to provide local and state law enforcement agencies unfettered access to evidence in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer-involved shootings and other use of force incidents.