Shri Thanedar, an Indian-born Democratic congressman from Michigan, filed the Abolish ICE Act, which aims to dismantle the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
His office started the procedure for the bill filed as H.R. 7123 on January 15, after making the announcement on January 9. The Ways and Means Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, and the Judiciary Committee have all been tasked with reviewing the bill.
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Who is Shri Thanedar?
Thanedar moved to the United States in 1979 from Karnataka, India, to pursue a PhD in chemistry at the University of Akron. He later became a U.S. citizen in 1988,
He built a successful career as a businessman and founder of Avomeen Analytical Services later became an author and public figure.
Thanedar has served as the U.S. representative for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District since January 3, 2023.
He also represented his district in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2021 to 2023 and also ran in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Thanedar, whose 13th Congressional district includes Detroit and the Downriver area, has been critical of federal agencies and the Trump administration in recent months. In April 2025, he filed seven articles for impeachment against Trump, but backed down a month later, and accused Noem of “lying to the American people” during a House hearing on Dec. 11, 2025, CBS reported.
According to CBS, Thanedar also filed articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in December 2025.
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Abolish ICE Act and legislative push
ICE is “totally out of control,” Thanedar said at a press conference on January 13. Additionally, Thanedar charged that ICE was “working beyond control” under the “leadership” of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.
He and his supporters argue that ICE has gone “beyond reform” and that its enforcement actions often result in harm to immigrant communities.
Thanedar said at the conference, “We need to make ICE go away.”
He added, “Since ICE’s establishment in 2003, they’ve prioritised aggressive enforcement and violence rather than due process. Americans are being terrorised. The tragic death of Renee Nicole Good … shows that ICE cannot be reformed and must be abolished.”
The Abolish ICE Act states that immigration enforcement duties could be reassigned to other federal agencies, like the Department of Homeland Security. After enactment, ICE will cease to exist within 90 days.
The bill also details that aggressive deportation tactics should be replaced with more humane and legally grounded approaches.