Queens councilmember breaks with progressives on ICE abolition letter

Councilmember Shanel Thomas-Henry told the Eagle last week she would not be signing on to a letter with her progressive colleagues that called on Democrats to push for the abolition of ICE. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

Only a single member of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus has not signed on to a popular letter calling on Democratic leadership to push for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Queens Councilmember Shanel Thomas-Henry, who represents the immigrant-heavy neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst and Corona in the city’s legislature, was the only member of the 23-member Progressive Caucus not to put her name to the letter, which was signed by nearly 150 lawmakers across New York State. Several of the neighborhoods she represents have been the target of ICE raids over the past two years.

Though she called ICE’s actions in recent months “deplorable,” she told the Eagle on Thursday that she disagreed with the letter’s central demand. She wants federal leaders to explore “reforming the system” rather than abolish ICE outright, she said.

“If it said ‘abolish Trump's ICE’ I would have probably been the first one to sign on,” she told the Eagle when asked during an unrelated press conference. “But I also understand that this agency was in existence way before [Trump]. It existed for a reason.”

Thomas-Henry, who has been in office since January, said she found it more important for federal lawmakers to “look at changing the laws that allow them to deport individuals on minor traffic offenses.”

“There are many layers that we have to look at,” she added.

The freshman councilmember, who was elected to succeed former Councilmember Francisco Moya in 2025, is the only self-described progressive official in Queens who has not signed on to the letter.

Borough President Donovan Richards has also not signed on, but he has publicly called for the abolition of ICE, which he has described as the “American Taliban,” and the “Gestapo.”

Thomas-Henry’s position on ICE, whose agents have fatally shot two men in recent weeks, falls more in line with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whom the letter is addressed to, than it does with her colleagues in the Progressive Caucus.

As of Friday afternoon, a total of 143 elected officials in New York State had signed on to the letter.

Queens and Brooklyn State Senator Julia Salazar and Queens Assemblymember Diana Moreno organized the letter, alongside Brooklyn Councilmember Shahana Hanif.

They were initially joined by 14 other Queens lawmakers; State Senators Michael Gianaris, Jessica Ramos and Kristen Gonzalez; Assemblymembers Jessica González-Rojas, Steven Raga, Khaleel Anderson, Claire Valdez, Catalina Cruz and Ron Kim; and Councilmembers Nantasha Williams, Tiffany Cabán, Shekar Krishnan, Julie Won and Jennifer Gutierrez.

State Senator John Liu and Councilmembers Ty Hankerson and Selvena Brooks-Powers have since signed on.

“This is the moment for New York elected officials to really take a stand and let our constituents know which side they are on,” Moreno told the Eagle last week. “It's time for people of conscience to step up against the deep corruption and abuse of power of the Trump administration, and I think ICE is a very clear example of that abuse of power and its human cost.”