PoliticsAbdul El-Sayed Calls for Replacing ICE at Final Michigan Debate, Says 'We Were a Lot More Safe' With INS
El-Sayed proposed a solution for replacing ICE.
Oct. 22 2026, Published 4:42 p.m. ET
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed proposed a new solution for ICE at the final Senate debate against Republican Mike Rogers, calling for the agency to be replaced with Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
"I believe that we don't need ICE. In fact, we can go back to INS, back when we were a lot more safe and secure when it came to immigration,” El-Sayed said. “And then we need to make sure we have a clear pathway to citizenship so that people can come here and take opportunities that are legal for them.”
El-Sayed Calls for Reviving INS
Mike Rogers was all for ICE at the debate.
El-Sayed and Rogers are in a tight race in one of several crucial Senate elections across the country. The two were asked if they would change anything about immigration enforcement at their October 21 debate.
While El-Sayed called for replacing ICE with INS, Rogers heaped praise on the controversial agency.
“ICE enforcement has gone after rapists and murderers and gangbangers and drug dealers and human traffickers, and it has had a tremendous impact on crime,” Rogers said. “My argument: we should continue to do that.”
The majority of people detained by ICE have no criminal record.
INS Was Broken Up in 2003
Reviving INS is not a widely held position, but has seen some support.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service was a federal organization from 1940 to 2003. It was broken up into ICE, Border Patrol and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security by George W. Bush.
Prior to the breakup, INS was far less militarized than the current iteration of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. Experts say it was also chronically underfunded, and the lack of attention paid to it was partially blamed for allowing the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Calls for bringing back INS have seen some spread online, though it's not a widely held position among politicians.
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El-Sayed and Rogers Debate
El-Sayed called for crime prevention programs.
The candidates also discussed crime in a nasty debate in which Rogers falsely claimed that El-Sayed had ties to The Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization.
“To bring into question my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you. I am proud of America. I'm proud to be an American,” El-Sayed said.
El-Sayed also called for investment into crime prevention programs, saying, “I believe we also need to fund things like behavioral health response, things like community violence intervention. I also think that we need to make sure that folks who have been in the system get full access to good education, so they don't wind themselves back into the system.”
The Candidates Prep Their Final Campaign Stops
El-Sayed will campaign with Obama.
The candidates prepare for their final two weeks on the trail before the November 3 midterms. El-Sayed will be campaigning with Barack Obama in the final weeks, while President Donald Trump is holding a rally for Rogers.
As has increasingly become the case, Rogers is unsure if he'll attend the rally, as some reports suggest that Republican candidates are iffy about appearing with President Trump due to his horrible approval rating.
