Astead Herndon

We want bad people out.

I wanted to ask about that.

I mean, some advocates have said that immigration enforcement could be handled by a different type of agency.

Do we know, kind of for the proponents of people who want to abolish ICE, what the prospect of where immigration enforcement would go otherwise?

Or is he right that, you know, it's kind of a choice between that or nothing?

It would seem as if that kind of tension is at its heart.

Abdication of that power we've seen.

Another question I want to ask is about the Lake and Riley Act, which passed in January 2025.

Senator Ruben Gallego was one of several Democratic senators to vote for that bill, which extended mandatory detention for undocumented individuals that were arrested and helped lay the groundwork for some of the expansion of ICE that we're now seeing.

Some of the expansion he's now seeking to rein in.

I wanted to ask you about the Lake and Riley Act.

How much should we draw a direct line from that bill, which was one of President Trump's first priorities upon returning, to the ramp up of deportation efforts?

I mean, it definitely feels like the Democrats' one principle around immigration is we don't like what Donald Trump does.

Yes.

I wanted to ask, you know, kind of why you think this has remained broken for so long.

I mean, why not fix something?

What's the incentive to bring in a group where the political cost is almost certainly greater than when any potential benefit?

You know, Gallego has talked about the need to embrace practical solutions rather than something like, you know, the dramatic step of abolishing ICE.

I wanted to know from your perspective, someone who's done kind of systemic work, individual work, what is the biggest gap you see in the political conversation about immigration that could be really tangibly impactful for folks' lives?

Yeah.