What the DNC actually voted on
At its summer meeting in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, August 15, 2026, the Democratic National Committee approved a resolution urging Congress to pass legislation abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and winding down immigration detention. It also approved a competing, softer reform measure sponsored by DNC Chair Ken Martin.
Two details get lost in the coverage. The vote is non binding, and it does not change the party platform, which is set at the convention every four years. Headlines calling abolition official DNC policy overstate what happened, a point conceded in those outlets’ own body text.
Inside Resolution 27
The abolition measure is Resolution 27, proposed by Michele Johnson, a DNC member from Louisiana. It calls on Congress to enact legislation dissolving ICE and winding down immigration detention.
The resolution goes further than the headline. It would condition Department of Homeland Security funding on ending workplace raids, mass roundups, courthouse and check in arrests, and operations near schools and houses of worship. It also calls for terminating private detention contracts, closing facilities and expanding civil rights oversight.
The argument inside the room
Johnson framed it as a language problem. “I think one of the reasons why people are not trusting the party is because we sound so academic,” she said. She added that Democrats “sound poll tested” because “we’re worried about saying the wrong thing.”
Yvonne Reeves Chong opposed the measure, arguing it divides the base and urging the committee to “get to the business of winning races so we can make the policies that make a difference.” Martin drew his line carefully: “Our official party positions are determined at the convention every four years in our platform. However, clearly, the one thing that unites Democrats… is people believe that what ICE is doing right now and CBP and the federal government should stop.”
Homan’s response on Fox
Tom Homan, the administration’s border czar, answered on Fox News’ “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade” on Sunday, August 16. He is not the ICE director.
“So you want to abolish an agency that found 151,000 children,” Homan said. “You want to abolish an agency that seized enough fentanyl to kill every American three times over again. You want to abolish an agency that is attacking sex trafficking.” He also argued critics are aiming at their own handiwork: members of Congress calling for abolition, he said, are “failing to tell the people” that “we’re enforcing the laws that they wrote.” He added that ICE set an arrest record in June 2026 and exceeded it in July. Fox posted the clip Monday.
The 70 percent claim and the detention data
Homan also said roughly 70 percent of the people ICE arrests are criminals. Primary federal data points close to the opposite direction.
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, using ICE’s published figures, found 46,436 of the 65,765 people in ICE detention as of July 11, 2026, or 70.6 percent, had no criminal conviction. David J. Bier of the Cato Institute, in a November 24, 2025 analysis of leaked ICE booking data and Deportation Data Project records, found 73 percent with no conviction, 8 percent with a violent or property conviction and 5 percent with a violent conviction.
The fairest reading of Homan’s number
There is a version of the claim that lands closer. Homan may be describing arrests rather than detention, and counting people with pending charges as well as convictions. On that measure the gap narrows: Cato’s figure for people with neither a conviction nor a pending charge is 47 percent, not 73.
Even on that reading, conviction data does not support the statement that about 70 percent of ICE arrestees are criminals.
The 151,000 children figure
The claim that ICE “found” 151,000 missing or smuggled children is unverified. No primary ICE or DHS document supporting it has been located.
Its likely origin is a tracking gap rather than a rescue operation. An August 2024 DHS Inspector General report found ICE lacked the capacity to monitor unaccompanied minors released from custody between October 2018 and September 2023. Children the government could not track are not the same as children who were missing. Snopes examined a structurally identical claim in February 2026, that ICE had “found 3,364 missing children in Minnesota,” and rated it misleading: the children were never missing. Jonathan Beier of the Acacia Center for Justice told Snopes that children “who were never ‘missing’ shouldn’t be described as having been ‘found.'” AP and CBS have separately found the related 300,000 missing children figure lacks context.
The fentanyl line and the party split
Homan’s fentanyl comparison is a standard lethal dose extrapolation. No primary seizure tonnage behind it has been located, and most fentanyl is seized by Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry rather than by ICE.
Congressional Democratic leadership is not where the Austin resolution is. Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer back reform, with Jeffries calling for “dramatic, bold, and transformational reform.” Rep. Ro Khanna is on the other side: “I’ve always been for a secure border. But I’ve called for abolishing ICE.” A White House spokeswoman said “extreme radical Democrats want to abolish ICE and defund the police,” and credited President Trump’s enforcement with “the lowest murder rate in 125 years,” a causal claim no outlet has verified.
Public opinion cuts both ways. Marquette Law School polling in May 2026 gave Republicans a 19 point advantage over Democrats on immigration, with Trump’s immigration approval at 44 percent approve to 56 percent disapprove. Marquette’s January 2026 survey put ICE job approval at 40 percent approve, 60 percent disapprove. If you want something lighter, our Big Brother 28 Week 6 veto spoilers are waiting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the DNC vote to abolish ICE?
It approved a non binding resolution urging Congress to pass abolition legislation, and at the same meeting approved a competing reform resolution. Neither changes the party platform, which is set at the convention.
What is in Resolution 27?
It calls on Congress to dissolve ICE and wind down immigration detention. It would also condition DHS funding on ending workplace raids, mass roundups and arrests near schools and houses of worship.
Is Tom Homan the director of ICE?
No. Homan is the administration’s border czar. He discussed the DNC vote on Fox News’ “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade” on Sunday, August 16, 2026.
Are 70 percent of ICE arrestees criminals?
Conviction data does not support that. TRAC found 70.6 percent of people in ICE detention as of July 11, 2026 had no criminal conviction, and Cato put the share at 73 percent. Counting pending charges narrows it: Cato found 47 percent had neither.
Did ICE find 151,000 missing children?
The figure is unverified, and no primary ICE or DHS document supporting it has been located. A 2024 DHS Inspector General report found ICE could not adequately monitor unaccompanied minors released from custody, a tracking failure rather than a set of rescues.
How many people are in ICE detention?
ICE detention held 65,765 people as of July 11, 2026, according to agency data compiled by TRAC. Another 183,181 people were monitored through alternatives to detention programs.
