Dems Hold The Line And Fight ICE as They Attack Trump in the Senate

Summary

Podcast Summary: IHIP News — "Dems Hold The Line And Fight ICE as They Attack Trump in the Senate"

Date: January 29, 2026
Hosts: Jennifer Welch & Angie "Pumps" Sullivan
Guest: Rep. Greg Casar, Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus

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Episode Overview

This episode features an impassioned conversation with Rep. Greg Casar amid a moment of crisis: ICE crackdowns in Minneapolis have turned deadly, drawing national outrage and thrusting immigration enforcement into the political forefront. Hosts Jennifer and Angie dig deep with Casar into how progressives are mobilizing, the intersection of immigration and authoritarianism, and the moral choices Democratic leaders face. The discussion is both sobering and fiery, blending dark humor with urgency.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. ICE Violence in Minneapolis and Authoritarian Drift

• ICE agents’ actions in Minneapolis are highlighted as a culmination of long-term right-wing investments in "deportation machinery" even in cities with little immigration pressure ([00:05]-[00:26]).
• Rep. Casar draws a broader parallel:
  • "It’s not just hitting immigrants. It means that US veterans, citizens being thrown on the ground, stopped, searched without warrants and even executed in the street..." ([00:26])
  • References “first they came…” warning as reality.
• Bravery in response: Everyday people, exemplified by Rep. Ilhan Omar's defiance, are uplifting hope amid Congressional reluctance.

2. Should ICE Be Abolished? Policy and Messaging

• Casar on ICE’s origins and mission creep:
  • "Republicans don't want you to know that ICE was only created in 2003… The agency that is supposed to be focused on terrorism is the agency that is focused on immigration enforcement…" ([02:22])
  • Points out that CBP (Customs & Border Protection) is also culpable, and mere “reforming” isn’t enough.
• Reform vs. Abolition Debate:
  • Republicans "misrepresent us... see these progressives, they want no immigration laws at all."
  • Advocates for "a vastly different set of immigration laws" and a pathway to citizenship ([02:22]-[03:58]).

3. Senate Votes on ICE Funding: Mobilizing Opposition

• Immediate action required: The Senate is actively debating increasing ICE funding.
• Direct call to listeners:
  • "You can call your senator and tell them to vote no… push right now because look, we have a chance to block this bill in the Senate and to demand some baseline reforms." ([04:02])
• Strategic engagement: Even if not all can be won, every bit of pressure matters pre-election.

4. Reform Measures Are Not Enough: Lawlessness and Leadership Weakness

• Angie critiques Democratic negotiating:
  • "Playing patty cake with them... gives me no comfort that this is going to reform an agency that I think needs to be abolished." ([05:06])
  • The Trump administration “does whatever they want with impunity. Make us.”
  • Democratic leadership is not feared enough to be effective: "Do you know how much they hated Nancy Pelosi?... She was powerful and got under their skin and she whipped votes." ([06:37])
• Casar agrees on needing public opposition to push the party:
  • "We need the people to be the opposition and get our party to catch up... the Congressional Progressive Caucus... was the first and only big caucus in Congress that said... vote against this DHS funding bill, period." ([07:01])

5. Expose Republican Obstruction and Demand Basic Rights

• Expose GOP extremism: Even conservatives in Oklahoma/Texas object to ICE’s excessive force ([07:01]-[09:59]).
• **Republican senators must be forced to state positions on fundamental legal standards ("Fourth Amendment," warrants)—to reveal if they will oppose even most basic reforms.

6. GOP Fissures: Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller & Fractures Within

• Intramural GOP tensions: Senator Thom Tillis publicly lambasts Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller; Noem, facing dismissal, threatens to expose Miller’s role ([09:59]-[11:04]).
  • "He basically was like, yeah, they're losers."
• Casar’s take:
  • Only Republicans with “backbone” are leaving (retiring/fired), hence willingness to break ranks ([11:04]).
  • Urges listeners to press for Noem’s impeachment, citing failures on ICE, FEMA, and specific disaster neglect.

7. Liam Ramos: The Human Toll of ICE Policy

• Angie recounts ICE’s use of a 5-year-old, Liam Ramos, as ‘bait’.
  • "He had the cute little beanie on with the ears... you see ICE agents, escorting him around and he's trying to be brave and hold back tears." ([12:41])
• Casar updates:
  • Liam is listless, health failing; ICE blocks access, but he and Rep. Castro are fighting for oversight ([13:30]).
  • Tragically, Liam is "just one of about 4,000 kids that have gone locked up in the last year."
• Moral imperative to speak out:
  • "I haven’t met, never met anybody that voted for this five year old... He's got a five year old in a prison."
  • Dems should not shy away from making this a moral and political issue: "We can hold Trump accountable for his failures on the economy, but we should also be talking about this." ([13:30])

8. Democrats, Messaging, and the Danger of ‘Crowdsourcing Morals’

• Angie’s frustration with polling-driven caution:
  • "'The Democrats need to say, I want to abolish ICE, but I stand for immigration reform and I want to abolish ICE because I care about human beings.'" ([15:29])
  • Criticizes leadership for crowdsourcing rather than standing for principle—"maybe say, I was told by pollsters not to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway because I fucking stand for something."
  • Warns of generational trauma, broken moral compass if such abuses become normalized ([17:05]).
• Casar’s rallying response:
  • "They thrive in the darkness and the silence and the fear. So we need you to shout in that silence. We need you to rally, march through the dark. Because we at this moment cannot be paralyzed by our fear and we cannot be numbed by this, because that's exactly what they want." ([17:33])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rep. Greg Casar:

  • "This whole operation is the pinnacle of what Republican right wing fraudsters and xenophobes have been building up to for years." ([00:26])
  • "Republicans don't want you to know that ICE was only created in 2003... that makes no sense." ([02:22])
  • "We need the people to be the opposition and get our party to catch up." ([07:01])
  • "Expose them... they won’t even do the basic things that conservative voters right now think, 'well, that makes perfect sense.'" ([07:01]-[09:59])
  • "They thrive in the darkness and the silence and the fear… shout in that silence. We need you to rally, march through the dark." ([17:33])

• Angie Sullivan:

  • "I'm a pretty logical person. And to me, it seems like the ethos of the Trump administration is the law and the rules don't apply to us. We do whatever we want to do with impunity. Make us." ([05:06])
  • "Our opposition doesn't hate our leaders enough." ([06:36])
  • "The Democrats need to say, I want to abolish ice, but I stand for immigration reform... because I care about human beings." ([15:29])
  • On Liam Ramos: "He had the cute little beanie on with the ears... you see the ICE agents… trying to be brave and hold back tears." ([12:41])

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• 00:26: Casar frames ICE violence as an extension of right-wing agenda and moral hazard for all citizens.
• 02:22: Calls out the recentness and purpose drift of ICE; broadens critique to CBP and need for policy overhaul.
• 04:02: Urgent call to organize against new ICE funding.
• 05:06: Angie lays into the ineffectiveness of Democratic “reforms” and expresses impatience with party leadership.
• 07:01: Casar stresses movement-led opposition is what’s moving the party and meaningful change.
• 09:59: Hosts and guest discuss growing Republican division, focusing on the Kristi Noem/Stephen Miller scandal.
• 12:41 - 13:30: The story of 5-year-old Liam Ramos, used as ‘bait’ by ICE, becomes an emotional flashpoint.
• 15:29: Angie’s condemnation of polling-obsessed, principle-free messaging.
• 17:33: Casar’s rallying call for moral resistance over political paralysis.

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Conclusion

This episode is a blistering and heartfelt call to political and moral action. The hosts, joined by Rep. Casar, dissect ICE policy as emblematic of wider American anxieties about authoritarianism and the soul of the nation. They challenge not only the right but also Democratic leadership to move beyond milquetoast reforms and reclaim bold, people-centered politics. At its heart is the reminder that behind every political skirmish are human lives—most poignantly, symbolized by children like Liam Ramos.

Final Call to Listeners (20:12):
Casar urges: "Start organizing on those senators because we can save lives and start making a difference now... If we don’t pick this fight these next three days, that’s just not acceptable. So we need your help."

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Joined by a Democratic congressman who fights, who gets up and fights every single day. And of course I'm talking about Progressive Caucus chair Representative Greg Cassar. We have ICE agents murdering protesters in Minneapolis. Obviously Minneapolis doesn't even really have an immigration problem. What is this whole operation about?

[A]

This whole operation is the pinnacle of what Republican right wing fraudsters and xenophobes have been building up to for years. Right in places like Texas. They've been pumping more and more and more money into the deportation machine. Tons of people being hurt, but it's usually working class people, poor people, folks that hasn't been shown on tv. And now Trump and Stephen Miller and all these guys now have it at the pinnacle of what they've asked for. And you can see it, you can see what it means for this authoritarian anti immigrant, anti working class agenda just full on on tv. And that means it's not just hitting immigrants. It means that us veterans, citizens being thrown on the ground, stopped, searched without warrants and even executed in the street because it reminds us of that very wise saying that first they came for somebody else and then they came for somebody else until they come for you and there's nobody left to speak up for you. But what this is also about is not just the horrors, but the bravery of people in Minneapolis and all across the country who are leaving work, marching in the street, in the cold, standing up, pushing back. Like you saw Ilhan Omar where that Trump guy came running at her to assault her and she got back up in his face and said we're hosting the town hall. It's about the bravery of people speaking out. Even when a lot of politicians have been too much of Congress to speak out. Brave everyday people speaking out because that's what's going to push us through this. And right now we're just seeing the horrors firsthand. And they want people to be scared and shut up. But. But this is the moment to do the opposite.

[B]

Do you think ICE needs to be abolished?

[A]

I think that Republicans don't want you to know that ice was only created in 2003. That means the agency that is supposed to be focused on terrorism is the agency that is focused on immigration enforcement, where the vast majority of people, the only crime they've committed is trying to take care of their family. That makes no sense. And then ICE isn't the only problem. You've got CBP where the officer who shot Alex Preddy was a CBP officer. So their little tinkers and reforms to ICE and CBP aren't enough. But, Jennifer, what we deal with in Texas, and I know that you in Oklahoma deal with, is that Republicans try to misrepresent what it is we're trying to say. They hear the slogan and they say, see these progressives, they want no immigration laws at all. And I'm not going to let them misrepresent us. What we need is a vastly different set of immigration laws because they haven't been updated since I was born. What we need, we can't have immigration enforcement where they are throwing everyday people to the ground, shooting them, separating families. We should have the federal government focused on people that are committing real dangerous federal crimes. And for the millions of people who are just trying to take care of themselves and their family, they should have a pathway to citizenship. And that's, I think, how we deal with the root of this problem. That's the policy that we need.

[B]

Do you think Democrats in the Senate should vote to fund ice?

[A]

Absolutely not. And when you watch what is happening on TV right now and you ask yourself, what can I do? There's something you can do today about this. The Senate is taking up votes today and likely through the weekend on supercharge funding ice, and you can call your senator and tell them to vote no. And if your senator is one of the folks that is boosting all of this and is into this horrible stuff, then you can figure out who's running against them and help them out. Or you can call your friends in these swing state senators, states, Democrats, and push right now because look, we have a chance to block this bill in the Senate and to demand some baseline reforms. We're not going to get everything we want because the Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House. But you don't have to wait a second until those elections to get something done. Use all of our leverage. And that's why we need senators to say hell no to boosting ICE funding.

[B]

This week they're already starting to negotiate ice and they're saying stuff like, well, we're going to make them unmask and we're going to make them wear cameras and we're going to require more training. I'm not politician. I don't know the ins and outs and the minutiae of law enforcement, but I'm a pretty logical person. And to me it seems like the ethos of the Trump administration is the law and the rules don't apply to us. We do whatever we want to do with impunity. Make us. They're not scared of Chuck Schumer. They're not scared of Hakeem Jeffries. They are not scared of Democrats. They do whatever they want to do. So playing patty cake with them and saying, oh, we're going to train them more or we're going to put cameras on them or make them take their masks off gives me no comfort that this is going to reform an agency that I think needs to be abolished. And I respect your position on that because I do think we have to offer an alternate, but it doesn't. To me, it shows no effort that this is going to change anything because we have a lawless, tyrannical regime ruling the country with very little opposition in the House and Senate. And I'm not speaking about you personally, but I know there's not enough opposition because Hakeem and Chuckles aren't hated enough by the right. Do you know how much they hated Nancy Pelosi? They couldn't fucking stand her. There was clip after clip after clip.

[A]

Why?

[B]

Because she was powerful and she got under their skin and she whipped votes. And I hated Mitch McConnell. I couldn't stand him. Why? Because he was an effective minority leader and we're. Our opposition doesn't hate our leaders enough. So what can you speak about what the Senate is trying to do right now and the impotent Democratic leadership? A two part question.

[A]

Yeah. So what's so important, and you've said this over and over on the show, and it's why I love watching it, is that we need the people to be the opposition and get our party to catch up. And part of my job is to get out there with the people and tell them we need you. And then also on the inside of my day job, get folks to catch up. And that's why the Congressional Progressive Caucus that I'm proud to chair but just be a part once part of was the first and only big caucus in Congress that said one, we should be voting against this DHS funding bill, period. And two, that the extra billions of dollars that have already gone in to Trump's ICE force need to get pulled out. And we need to go say that should be going out to make sure your childcare costs come down to build more housing in this country, to make sure your health care costs that just got jacked up get pushed back down. And I think that is what real strong opposition looks like. And we need to keep on ginning that up. And honestly, the people you speaking out is starting to make that difference on the Senate negotiations. Here's what I think is really important and folks need to hear you and I both know we live in these states, places like Oklahoma and Texas, where there are lots of folks that are significantly more conservative than you or me or a lot of folks watching at home on this. And they even they, if you look at polling, if you just talk to folks on the street, are like, how is it that, that we're sending thousands of agents into a city and they're arresting people and not even following the Fourth Amendment, not even using warrants? I think it's right and good to say, okay, senators, I know that they probably aren't going to go as hard at the map as you or I would, but ask them, will you follow the Fourth Amendment? Will you follow court orders? Will you stop arresting and deporting US Citizens and show expose that these Republican senators just do whatever Trump asks and are going to say no to the most basic of asks. Expose them. What I'm worried about is that they have a show vote, cut some little deal, and then we don't even have the fight. And we need to have the fight so that we can expose that these Republican senators and Republican congresspeople won't even do the basic things that conservative voters right now think. Well, I mean, that makes perfect sense. They should wear a, not wear a mask and wear a badge. That isn't going to fix everything. I don't want folks getting shot by somebody without a mask and wearing a badge. But I think that Republican senators saying no to the most basic of things is an important fight to have and to expose them. What I'm worried about if people, if we don't ramp up the pressure right now is that we may not even have that fight.

[B]

Senator Tillis, Republican, was just ripping Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller. And this is just something that I think is really interesting for us to talk about. We know that the way this government is treating all of us, this regime, you know, they're treating each other equally as shitty. Inside this administration, we know they're toxic. And he has held this Trump 2.0 the first year together, more so than he did initially. But fissures are happening right now. Somebody wants a head to roll. And so everybody's like, kristi Noem's going to go. And Kristi Noem's like, listen up, Mfers, if I go down, Stephen Miller told me to do this. And so we're starting to see fissures and you're seeing a Republican senator throw them both under the bus. I think it's a very interesting time for us to continue to apply pressure whenever this Cult shows a fissure. We need to P on because I was stunned by, I mean, he, he basically was like, yeah, they're losers.

[A]

Yeah. Then when Trump called him a loser, he said, oh, that's perfect. That makes me qualified to be Trump's secretary. Yes, secretary. But what you're pointing out is really important here. Is Thom Tillis that senator. One of it's not that he has an incredible backbone, it's that he's retiring. It is the folks that are the only Republicans in sight. It seems like in office that have some, some amount of backbone is likely because they're leaving or because they've already been fired or because they've already left. So that's why I think it is right now the time to ramp up the pressure to impeach Kristi Noem. 1. She's certainly committed her fair share of high crimes and misdemeanors and corruption. She's also, apart from all the terrible ICE stuff she's done, the FEMA stuff she hasn't done is horrific. You know, I have people here in my county, in Travis county that died in those July 4th floods. Many more in Kerrville, southwest of here. And she delayed search and rescue 72 hours. And there's a lot of reasons to fire her. And as you pointed out, once they're fired, once they're out, then they start talking about everybody else. And that's how this thing starts to unravel. We saw that in the first Trump administration. And so we fired Elon Musk. We're gonna finish firing this Bovino guy and Kristi Noem, you know, call your representative, make sure they get on the resolution to impeach Christy Dell.

[B]

God, I want Robert Garcia to drag her, drag her for filth in front of Congress and then get Stephen Miller thrown under the bus. I mean, I don't like watching people fail, but I'm going to tell you, I love watching these people fail because they are diabolical and horrible. Which brings me to little 5 year old Liam Ramos. And this is the child, listener and viewer that ICE used as bait. He's just a five year old and he had the cute little beanie on with the ears and the little tassels. And when my boys were little, I put them on little beanies like that. And you see the ICE agents, you know, escorting him around and he's trying to be brave and hold back tears. It's my understanding, Congressman, that you went to see Liam, is that correct?

[A]

So I was down in San Antonio. Congressman Castro is the one that got the permission to go see him. It's very hard. They do everything they can to keep us out. But I was with Congressman Castro right after he saw Liam and he's really concerned about Liam's health, not doing well, very lethargic. If you could see, there's a photograph from yesterday that the congressman managed to get where Liam is laying in his father's arms. And so we're going to go check back up on him again and asked to see him. It's really just so important for people. I know it's uncomfortable, but everybody's got their friend or their family member at the dinner table who voted for Trump, but they didn't vote for this. I haven't met, never met anybody that voted for this five year old when they said he's going after the worst of the worst. He's got a five year old in a prison. And then what I think is important for people to know is that he is just one of about 4,000 kids that have gone locked up in the last year. But what this one has broken through, but there have been thousands. And so it is right now a time for us to reclaim our humanity, fight back. And there's a lot that makes me angry about this. But one part of it is I just think back in the last year at the number of pollsters and pundits who say Democrats shouldn't talk about immigration. Well, you know what, we can hold Trump accountable for his failures on the economy, but we should also be talking about this. We could do both. I mean, this guy said he was going to try to keep us safe and he's locking up five year olds and refusing to let them go free. So we're going to stay on this one, say free Liam Ramos, but then free all those children because this is just, it is just un American.

[B]

You bring up something that I think is really important and it's at the epicenter of the Democratic Party right now. And it is all of the consultants and the polling and crowdsourcing morals and it translates to the electorate. Like, you know, you read a story, the Democrats were told not to use the language abolish I. So the Democrats were are told not to use this. That's the problem. The Democrats need to say, I want to abolish ice, but I stand for immigration reform and I want to abolish ICE because I care about human beings. I don't like watching human beings get tortured and hidden and scared to go to school and having, you know, group setups for watch for innocent people. That happen to have melanin in their skin. And you know, we have always had immigrants in this country. We are built on immigration. And it's just so abhorrent to me sometimes when I see not you, but some of the Democratic leadership crowdsourcing what they're supposed to fucking believe in and maybe say, I was told by pollsters not to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway because I fucking stand for something and I believe in that little boy and I believe that all this does is damage that kid generationally and scares all other children and does nothing to make Americans safe. And I would even say this, Congressman, for some people seeing their government.

[A]

See.

[B]

Treat little kids like this, it starts breaking something in them. Look at fucking Marco Rubio. I'm not saying he was ever like the greatest guy in the planet, but look at how he starts capitulating and appeasing to the moral rot and so trickle that down all over the country. And when people appease this type of shit, it breaks them. And we have to fight for the heart and soul of who we are and quit crowdsourcing what we believe in.

[A]

They're part of what they want people to do is they either want to make morals completely irrelevant and make you just totally numb and check out, and then they also want other groups of people who refuse to do that to feel afraid. And I'll tell you, here in my community, there are so many people that every day, if not every few hours, feel afraid. Afraid their parents aren't going to come home from work, or afraid they're going to be separated from their spouse, or afraid about how their students are going to do or what's going to happen to their own kids or to their neighbors or even if you don't have any immigrants in your family or on your street, people who watch that video and see Renee Good and Alex Preddy dead in the street and worry that it could be somebody they love next. And I can't guarantee to people that feel afraid right now that everything's going to be okay. But I can guarantee you that what Trump and Stephen Miller and their cronies want is for that fear to paralyze you. Because they thrive in the darkness and the silence and the fear. So we need you to shout in that silence. We need you to rally, march through the dark. Because we at this moment cannot be paralyzed by our fear and we cannot be numbed by this, because that's exactly what they want. And we're not going to let any pollsters or any talking heads come and make us think, you know what? Just ignore the immorality of all of this. There are people out there who just feel uninspired and afraid and they need some of us. Some of us may be in elected office, but a lot of folks watching at home saying we can't let them win because this is not the future that is right for this country. Period. End stop.

[B]

Congressman, thank you so much for your work. It's a difficult job at this time and I really appreciate you standing in progressive values and your vision for where we need to move leadership and your vision as to where the party is going to head to where the Democrats are a party of the people, by the people, for the people, whereas MAGA is the party of the billionaires, by the billionaires and for the billionaires. Thank you for being so clear eyed and having so much moral clarity. This is really tough stuff. And please keep us updated on little Liam and a shout out to all people that have been kidnapped by this government and are experiencing generational trauma right now because this cannot be who we are. Congressman, thank you, thank you, thank you.

[A]

I would be amiss if I don't mention one more time to folks watching there's something you can do right now, today. Start organizing on those senators because we can save lives and start making a difference now won't get us everything we want. But if we don't pick this fight these next three days, that's just not acceptable. So we need your help. Thanks so much for having me on, Jennifer.

[B]

Thank you Congressman. I'll see you soon.