Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) drew controversy on Sunday after comparing [1] Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to “slave patrols” during an appearance on MSNBC’s Velshi.
The comments came as host Ali Velshi questioned her about immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration and claims of accountability in federal law enforcement.
Velshi asked, “I’m trying to figure out, how can people who like Donald Trump, don’t like Donald Trump, understand that he seems to be building a police force that is not subject to the normal rules, that either policing or military should be subject to? It’s sort of a police force that’s lacking accountability.”
Crockett responded by saying, “There is no accountability. And it’s going after its American people.”
She went on to say the actions of immigration authorities resembled lawless operations.
“So, listen, if we want to figure out how we are going to be safer, we probably need people that have actual intelligence and actually will pay attention to data and facts and go from there. But what they’re doing right now, it almost feels like, you know, I’ve seen the memes about the purge and all these things, but as somebody who understands history, when I see ICE, I see slave patrols. Now, I never lived through the slave patrol period. But if you know the history of policing in this country, then you understand that they were born out of slave patrols.”
Crockett elaborated further, suggesting that immigration enforcement practices under Trump allowed broad targeting.
“It’s almost like you can just go grab them up — that is what they’re saying. And that is a problem. We all should have a problem with that,” she said.
She then linked her comments to broader debates over education.
“But when you don’t want to teach American history, that includes Black history, then you lose out on the benefit of understanding that we have been down this road before, and it was not good, and we fixed it once, and it is a shame that we are relitigating this, and we are going to have to fix it again.”
Crockett’s remarks come as the Trump administration has continued emphasizing immigration enforcement as a national security priority.
Trump officials, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, have recently defended ICE operations as vital to public safety, pointing to ongoing operations against illegal alien criminals across multiple states.
Law enforcement leaders have repeatedly defended the agency’s role in arresting and removing individuals who violate immigration law, including those convicted of serious crimes.
The Texas Democrat, a first-term member of Congress, has previously been outspoken on issues involving immigration, policing, and education.
Her remarks are likely to draw additional scrutiny as debates continue over both border security and the scope of federal enforcement authority.
The Biden-era policies on immigration had already been a major dividing line in Texas politics prior to the 2024 election, and Crockett’s comparison of ICE to slave patrols is expected to spark further reactions among both state and national lawmakers.
The comments add to an already contentious discussion over the role of federal immigration enforcement as President Trump’s administration pursues stricter measures at the border and in interior enforcement operations.