Protecting Immigrants and Abolishing ICE
I am the son of a refugee asylum seeker from Ethiopia and an African-American mother. I grew up in a multigenerational household with a half-Trinidadian sister and with several close family friends from dozens of nations – very much like so many 9th District households and families. I bring a point of view to US foreign policy that draws on my own agency and perspective as a child of a migrant who spent 8 days on foot fleeing Ethiopia during the repressive Red Terror Era of the late 1970s before finally gaining asylum on the north side of Chicago in the 1980s, landing right here in our district living in apartments in Edgewater and Uptown.
My mother and my father met in Lakeview at a concert. She had me when she was 18. She moved into Lincoln Square in 1981 with her mom and siblings just before I was born. They had become the first wave of Black families to move into Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood as an outcome of a landmark 1976 US Supreme Court decision desegregating public housing in Chicago. Raising me on Chicago’s north side, my mom was part of an extended social circle that included people from all walks of life and racial and ethnic backgrounds. They were her clients at Salon Pastiche in Rogers Park at the Loyola Red Line station, they were me and my sister’s mentors, and they were our teachers. They were our community! My mother’s ancestors were people who were enslaved for centuries in the United States, who were free people in America, who were indigenous to America, and more.
As one of the most diverse areas of the country, Illinois’ 9th District represents the best of America. This is a country built on multiculturalism and by people who have lived here for thousands of years, those who were forcefully brought here during the slave trade, those who forged new homes and retained old ones, and those who came escaping persecution and seeking better opportunities. The United States should always be a beacon for people fleeing persecution from all parts of the world: right now, we are tragically failing that responsibility. As the son of an Ethiopian asylum seeker who fled political violence, I have a deep belief that we will become that sanctuary once again. I also believe strongly that local communities should recognize, respect, and proactively teach about the different cultures that make them up: in the face of this authoritarian assault on our diversity, we need active and public efforts to uplift the multiculturalism at the heart of the American experiment.
I have been honored to bring this approach to the Illinois Senate. I’ve authored legislation to automatically translate state government websites and resources to provide in-language access for the 100+ languages that are spoken across the far north side. All people should be able to see, read, and feel the government working for them. I voted for and supported the Way Forward Act which ended immigration detention"> in Illinois, limited the cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE, and empowered the Attorney General to prosecute violations of these restrictions. ICE was created in a time of fear and panic, and it’s clear that this agency has been wildly weaponized and turned into a personal police, racially profiling with no regard. I’m proud to have strongly supported HB1342, passed in October 2025 which gives individuals the right to bring a private right of action against ICE agents who unlawfully detain and abduct our neighbors. The legislation also prohibits ICE from being within 1000 feet of a courthouse and keeps them away from early childhood centers and hospitals. I am now proud to be leading efforts to bring accountability to the collective trauma and devastation left across the 9th District during “Operation Midway Blitz.”
It is painfully clear that we need more: we need to ABOLISH ICE. Within my first 10 days of taking the oath of office in Congress, I would introduce legislation to terminate this violently out-of-control agency. Every dollar of the $170 billion allocated for border and interior enforcement over the next four years needs to be zeroed out in Congressional budget negotiations: there is no place for our taxpayer dollars going to the deportation machine that is terrorizing our streets. I am also deeply concerned about and strongly oppose the deployment of Illinois state troopers at the Broadview ICE Detention Center. I have been pressing leadership across the state for answers. The law is clear – state law enforcement is prohibited from working with ICE.
Our plan for immigration needs to be built on inclusion, not deportation. I fully support the restoration and expansion of the DACA program so that our Dreamers are not constantly at risk. I support the passage of the American Dream and Promise Act and all other attempts to build a reasonable pathway to citizenship for all immigrants. It is horrendous how the Trump Administration erratically picks and chooses which countries to ban travel from, not based on actual threats, but based on racial profiling, stereotypes, and dog-whistling. I support much more liberal policies that include expanded work visas. Families who risk their lives to come here should be able to live, work, and contribute to this country with the security of knowing they are here to stay.
