Rep. Jasmine Crockett Condemns Trump-Era ICE Raids

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) sharply criticized Trump-era immigration raids in Democratic-led cities, arguing they echo the tactics of antebellum “slave patrols” and fail to improve public safety.

In a Sept. 14 interview with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, Crockett linked the history of American policing to slave patrols and warned that permissive federal guidance around immigration enforcement risks encouraging indiscriminate stops.

“If you know the history of policing in this country, then you understand that they were born out of slave patrols,” she said, adding that recent legal developments risk sending a message that authorities can “just go grab them up.”

Her remarks arrived amid renewed conservative focus on the killing of 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton, for which an undocumented immigrant was charged. Crockett rejected broad conclusions drawn from singular, high-profile crimes, arguing data show White supremacists commit homicides at higher rates than undocumented immigrants.

“None of us want to be unsafe,” she said. “But we’re not looking at the facts… for every immigrant example, I’ll raise you at least two to five White supremacists, if not more.”

Crockett also criticized a recent Supreme Court decision that she said effectively widened federal discretion in immigration sweeps, including the use of broad cues—such as language—to question individuals.

She urged a broader understanding of U.S. history, particularly Black history, to recognize the dangers of repeating past abuses. “We’ve been down this road before, and it was not good,” she said. “It is a shame that we are relitigating this and we are going to have to fix it again.”

Supporters of aggressive federal enforcement argue that targeted operations deter criminal activity and remove dangerous offenders. Civil-rights advocates counter that wide-net raids sow fear, invite profiling, and undermine community trust in law enforcement.