Jasmine Crockett dismisses criticisms of her comparing ICE to slave patrols

“It is important for us to know our history. Because if we don’t, we’re doomed to repeat it,” the U.S. Senate candidate tells theGrio.

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett made headlines last month when she compared the tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to those of “slave patrols” who terrorized enslaved Blacks during the 1700s and 1800s. Despite some of the pushback the Texas U.S. Senate candidate received for the commentary, Crockett dismissed the outrage during an interview with theGrio.

“I know that they don’t want us to know our history in this country at this point, but I think it is important for us to see ourselves in what is happening,” Crockett said of why the Trump administration’s ICE operations against immigrants are also a threat to America’s more than 40 million Black Americans.

“When we saw what took place in Chicago, or even when we look at Minneapolis…ICE went into a Black community, was pulling Black babies out, and that kind of stuff, it is important for us to focus on what actually unites us than what divides us,” the U.S. congresswoman and former public defender told theGrio.

She continued, “I think that that’s what went wrong in the last election [in 2024]…we allowed ourselves to be divided. And so while some people get up in arms with the language, don’t get up in arms with the language, know the history.”

Crockett added, “If we allow for this history to play out again against any group of people, it is only a matter of time before it also gets to us. And frankly, we see that. We see that it’s expanded beyond just the immigrant community, right? And so, I think for me, drawing those parallels brings in more people, and hopefully, gets more people to understand why it is important for us to know our history. Because if we don’t, we’re doomed to repeat it, and frankly, right now, this country is repeating it.”

The Trump administration has faced considerable political blowback over ICE’s aggressive operations, particularly in Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot. As a result, Democrats and Republicans are currently locked in tense negotiations over the funding of ICE and the overall U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Democrats are calling for a list of reforms to rein in ICE’s power, including prohibiting agents from entering homes without a warrant, prohibiting agents from wearing face masks, and restricting where agents can conduct operations, among other proposals.

If a deal is not reached by Friday, funding for DHS will lapse, jeopardizing not only law enforcement agencies like ICE and Homeland Security but also national security agencies like TSA, FEMA, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Noting that ICE has only existed since 2003 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Crockett told theGrio she does not believe ICE “makes sense” for anyone in America, U.S. citizen or not.

“I don’t believe in this idea that they can go into homes and just not have warrants, and they can pull people out of their cars, they can smash windows, they can show up with their faces covered, that they’re not getting actual training,” she explained. “The things that they’re doing…are against their own policies. They are against the law. And so, I just don’t know how you clean this up.”

The Texas lawmaker also expressed concerns about reports that members of the Proud Boys, a white nationalist group that infamously participated in the violent and deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol on behalf of President Trump, have joined the ranks of ICE.

“I think that we need to scrap it, and we need to come up with something that actually meets not only the moment, but meets the definition of what they are supposed to be doing,” Crockett said of ICE.

She added, “I don’t know how you fix this, but I think that we start at the top,” she added. “I signed on to impeach [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem, and that’s where we start. We start by getting rid of her, and then we can work our way down.”