Then he made his position even clearer.
“Wait, wait. No. No cops. I think that’s some of the stupidest s–t I’ve ever heard,” he added.
Barkley’s comments are particularly significant because he was not speaking as a Republican operative or conservative activist. He was criticizing positions associated with Democrats while openly acknowledging his own history of voting for the party.
That makes his warning considerably harder for Democratic leaders to dismiss.
Barkley Takes Aim at ‘No ICE’ Politics
Barkley did not argue that ICE is beyond criticism. In fact, he specifically said the agency needs to improve its performance.
But he rejected the premise that America should simply eliminate immigration enforcement.
“Now, ICE has to do a much better job. Much better job. We can’t just let people come across the border. We can’t do that. But ICE has to do a better job.”
That distinction matters.
The debate is not simply about whether ICE has made mistakes or whether immigration policy should be reformed. The more fundamental question is whether the federal government should maintain an agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws and removing dangerous criminal aliens.
One prominent Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan has already answered that question.
Abdul El-Sayed has made abolishing ICE a central part of his political platform. His campaign even released an advertisement featuring him holding bags of ice while declaring himself “the only Senate candidate for abolishing ICE.”
El-Sayed has maintained that position for years and has described ICE as fundamentally incompatible with the immigration system he wants to create.
His campaign has attracted major progressive support. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed him during the Democratic primary, while Sen. Bernie Sanders has repeatedly campaigned alongside him. Sanders appeared with El-Sayed at a Detroit rally in May, where he endorsed the candidate and urged voters to send him to the Senate.
The race is now one of the most closely watched contests of the 2026 midterms. RealClearPolitics currently rates the Michigan Senate contest between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers as a toss-up, with El-Sayed holding a modest polling advantage in its average.
That means the question of immigration enforcement is not merely theoretical.
Michigan voters could soon be deciding whether a candidate who has pledged to abolish ICE should represent them in the United States Senate.
Then Came ‘The Witch’
The argument over ICE becomes even more consequential when looking at what happened in California.
On Aug. 26, U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta ordered federal authorities to release David Antonio Aviles Perez from ICE custody. Ohta had been appointed to the federal bench by former President Joe Biden.
Aviles Perez is known as “La Bruja,” or “the Witch.”
Salvadoran authorities identified him as an MS-13 member and convicted him in absentia in connection with an aggravated murder. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in El Salvador.
ICE arrested him in San Diego on March 26 after authorities located him in connection with an international warrant.
But Ohta concluded that immigration officials had held him for roughly five months without providing the required individualized determination or bond hearing concerning whether he represented a danger to the public or a flight risk. The judge therefore ordered his release.
Importantly, the ruling did not erase his Salvadoran murder conviction or declare him innocent. The dispute centered on the procedures used to keep him in immigration detention.
That distinction is crucial—but it does little to soften the political impact of the decision.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin blasted the ruling.
“This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer,” Mullin said.
He continued:
“This is now the SECOND time this dangerous illegal has been released back onto the streets in California.”
The case provides a vivid illustration of why the debate over ICE has become so politically explosive.
Immigration enforcement can be criticized, reformed and held accountable. But eliminating the agency entirely would also eliminate one of the federal government’s primary mechanisms for locating and removing people who are unlawfully present and accused or convicted of serious crimes.
Barkley’s Message Goes Beyond Immigration
Barkley also pushed back against the broader notion that Democrats should abandon traditional law enforcement.
His criticism included proposals involving police and prisons, positions that have increasingly become flashpoints within the Democratic Party.
He asked what the country would actually do without police or prisons.
His point was straightforward: reforming institutions is one thing. Eliminating the institutions responsible for public safety is something else entirely.
Barkley also rejected the idea that supporting immigration enforcement means opposing immigrants.
“We need immigrants in this country,” he said. “They’re some of the most amazing, hard-working people in the world.”
But he immediately added:
“We need to get rid of the crooked immigrants out of this.”
That is the distinction Barkley appears to believe Democrats are increasingly failing to make—between welcoming lawful, hardworking immigrants and allowing criminals to remain beyond the reach of immigration enforcement.
He even expressed support for voter identification requirements.
“You need to have ID when you go vote, like some of this stuff. Like, wait. Democrats said like, no, when you go vote, you need ID,” Barkley told Cuomo.
For Democrats hoping to hold their coalition together, Barkley’s criticism presents an uncomfortable problem.
He cannot easily be dismissed as a Republican talking point.
He is a longtime Democratic voter who is openly telling Democrats that some of their most aggressive positions have gone too far.
And in Michigan, voters are about to decide whether a candidate who wants to abolish ICE should receive a seat in the United States Senate.
The contrast could not be sharper: Barkley is warning that America needs police, prisons and a functioning immigration enforcement system, while El-Sayed has built his campaign around a dramatically different vision.
The Michigan Senate race may ultimately reveal just how far voters are willing to go with the progressive agenda.
And Charles Barkley has already made clear where he stands.
