According to the Daily Caller, Analilia Mejia, a self-described progressive running in a crowded Democratic primary for Sherrill’s former House seat, led a boisterous crowd in an “Abolish ICE” chant Monday evening, using the rally to demand the complete dismantling of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
She invoked the fatal January 7 shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis as justification for her stance, despite the Trump administration’s assertion that the officer fired in self-defense after Good allegedly attempted to use her vehicle as a weapon.
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“I say abolish ICE now,” Mejia declared to loud applause, insisting that Good deserved “justice” and framing the incident as emblematic of what she portrays as systemic abuse within the agency. “You can’t reform that,” she continued, referring to ICE. “It’s not fixable. Get it out. Kick it over. It is wrong. Forget it.”
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The rally, attended by more than 500 people, was headlined by Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has endorsed Mejia and folded her event into his national “Fight Oligarchy” tour. Mejia previously served as Sanders’ national political director during his 2020 presidential campaign, underscoring her deep ties to the party’s most hard-left faction.
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Mejia has also amassed support from other prominent progressives ahead of the Feb. 5 special election primary, further cementing her status as the candidate of the activist left. Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka have all lined up behind her bid.
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Her explicit embrace of the “abolish ICE” movement comes as Democrats across the country flirt once again with calls to defund or dismantle the agency, despite the political risks among moderates and independents who favor border security. Progressive Democrats first rallied around the “abolish ICE” slogan during the Trump administration, only to retreat from the rhetoric after voters punished the party in the 2022 and 2024 cycles.
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Sherrill, who resigned from Congress in December 2025 after winning the governor’s race, was sworn in Tuesday as New Jersey’s 57th governor, leaving her North Jersey seat open in a special election. The district, long considered safely Democratic, is now poised to test whether voters will reward or reject a candidate running on a platform that includes dismantling a federal immigration enforcement agency.
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On the campaign trail, Mejia has taken veiled swipes at the ten other Democrats seeking the nomination, casting herself as the only candidate willing to confront what she describes as systemic injustice. Her rivals include former Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski, who lost his seat in 2022 amid an ethics probe, Essex County commissioner Brendan Gill, backed by former Gov. Phil Murphy, and outgoing Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way.
“In a moment of rising authoritarianism, of economic insecurity, of state-sanctioned violence, any old blue just won’t do,” Mejia told supporters, dismissing more traditional Democrats as insufficiently bold. “If you send ‘weak sauce’ to Congress, we will get ‘weak sauce’ back.”
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Republicans, meanwhile, are coalescing around a single candidate, with Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway running unopposed in the GOP primary ahead of a special general election scheduled for mid-April. While the district leans heavily Democratic, a hard-left nominee could open the door, however slightly, to a law-and-order message focused on border security and public safety.
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The National Republican Congressional Committee wasted no time seizing on Mejia’s rhetoric, framing her as dangerously out of step with mainstream voters. “Progressive hero Analilia Mejia’s far-left agenda is unmatched. Mejia wants to roll out the red carpet for far-left ideas like abolishing ICE and raising taxes on working families,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said. “She’s got it all backwards, and New Jersey voters won’t buy it.”
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The nonpartisan Cook Political Report still rates the race as “Solid Democrat,” and Sherrill carried the seat by roughly 15 points in 2024, suggesting any Republican path would be steep. Yet the ideological contrast is sharpening as Democrats like Michigan Rep. Shri Thanedar push legislation to completely dismantle ICE—bills that, so far, have attracted no Democratic cosponsors, hinting at a party leadership wary of publicly embracing the far left’s most radical demands even as candidates like Mejia champion them on the campaign trail.
