• A push to abolish DHS, ICE, and Border Patrol
• A new Department of Community Safety proposal
• Shifts in TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard, and customs roles
• Republican backlash over border security and law enforcement
• The bill’s cosponsors and long-shot path through Congress
Rep. Delia Ramirez has put forward a sweeping plan that would blow up the current homeland security setup and rebuild it from the ground up. Her Reimagining Safety Act would scrap the Department of Homeland Security, end ICE and Border Patrol, and replace the old structure with a new Department of Community Safety.
The proposal is one of the most aggressive immigration and enforcement shake-ups to come from Capitol Hill in recent memory. It keeps some familiar federal pieces in place, including TSA and FEMA, but the core message is clear: the current system would be torn apart and reassembled under a very different philosophy.
At the center of the bill is a direct hit on CBP, the agency that includes Border Patrol and handles a big chunk of border screening and enforcement. Supporters of stronger immigration controls see that as a dangerous step backward, especially at a time when border security remains a top concern for many Americans.
The bill does not simply trim a few programs around the edges. It would eliminate CBP’s existing enforcement structure and move some customs and immigration functions into other departments, including the Treasury Department and the Justice Department. That kind of bureaucratic shuffle sounds neat on paper, but in practice it raises obvious questions about who is actually in charge when the border is under pressure.
Ramirez’s office says the measure has backing from several progressive lawmakers, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Adelita Grijalva and Jim McGovern. That lineup is no surprise to anyone following the leftward push inside the House, where some members increasingly treat immigration enforcement as the problem rather than illegal immigration itself.
The bill also takes aim at border wall funding, blocking federal dollars for new wall construction starting in fiscal year 2027. It would go even further by requiring the closure of the military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay within 60 days of enactment, adding another high-profile flashpoint to an already loaded bill.
Republicans and DHS officials are not buying the pitch. Markwayne Mullin blasted the proposal and made the argument in blunt terms, saying, “Radical leftists are calling to defund the police and abolish DHS. It’s NEVER going to happen. Our 270,000 DHS patriots are keeping Americans SAFE— unlike this open-borders politician who refuses to prioritize Americans over illegal aliens,” Mullin said.
A DHS spokesperson also fired back, saying Ramirez “should be thanking our law enforcement for removing these dangerous criminals from her district — NOT vilifying law enforcement.” That response reflects a bigger divide that keeps coming up in Washington, where one side wants more enforcement and the other side keeps trying to weaken the people doing the enforcing.
Ramirez has defended the bill as a response to what she sees as a broken system, arguing that the country should “dismantle DHS, reimagine safety and build something that honors our shared humanity.” Her pitch leans heavily on community safety language, but the practical impact would be hard to ignore for border agents, immigration officers and the agencies that support them.
Under the plan, TSA and the Coast Guard would shift to the Department of Transportation, while FEMA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would be folded into the new Community Safety department. That reorganization would be massive, touching everything from travel security to disaster response and critical infrastructure protection.
For now, the legislation is still just a proposal, and it would need to survive Congress before any of it could become real. Given the scale of the changes and the fierce opposition from Republicans, the bill looks more like a political statement than a serious path forward, even if it has already managed to spark a loud fight over borders, law enforcement and the future of DHS.
