Who Is Shri Thanedar? Meet The Indian-Origin Anti-Trump US Lawmaker Who Has Introduced ‘Abolish ICE Act,’ Here’s How He Plans To Shut It In 90 Days

Anger is boiling over in the US after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis last week.

The incident has thrown ICE’s tactics into the spotlight and ramped up criticism of the agency, especially in Minnesota, where the immigration crackdown has already stirred a lot of tension. 

Now, Congressman Shri Thanedar who’s originally from India has stepped up with a plan to shut ICE down for good, saying the agency is “beyond reform.”

Thanedar rolled out his Abolish ICE Act on January 9, just two days after Good was killed. By January 15, his office had started the formal process to get the bill moving.

From here, it heads to the Ways and Means, Homeland Security, and Judiciary Committees, according to the Hindustan Times.

What exactly does the Abolish ICE Act aim to do? 

Thanedar’s website spells it out: he wants to dismantle ICE and strip away its current enforcement powers. The idea is to swap out the agency’s harsh deportation tactics for something rooted in due process and actual rule of law.

The proposal points out that the US enforced immigration laws long before ICE came along in 2003, and those responsibilities could easily go to other agencies like the Department of Homeland Security. If Congress passes the bill, ICE would have just 90 days before it’s officially gone.

Thanedar hasn’t minced words about why he thinks this is necessary. “Since ICE’s establishment in 2003, they’ve prioritised aggressive enforcement and violence rather than due process. Americans are being terrorised,” he said.

He even tried last year to end qualified immunity for ICE agents, so they’d be held responsible if they broke the law. The killing of Renee Good, he said, pushed things past the breaking point: “ICE is out of control and beyond reform. We must fundamentally change the way we approach immigration: it’s time to abolish ICE.”

He argues that ICE has been operating outside legal norms, especially since Donald Trump and Kristi Noem took over as President and Secretary of Homeland Security. Thanedar’s team says ICE has turned into a weapon, spreading fear and panic in both immigrant and non-immigrant communities, with aggressive tactics in big cities.

Shri Thanedar: ‘We need to make ICE go away’

At a press conference on January 14, Thanedar didn’t hold back: “We need to make ICE go away. We don’t need murderers. We do not need this paramilitary organisation’s members on our streets terrorising US citizens and immigrants alike.”

Thanedar’s push doesn’t stop with ICE. He’s also calling for Secretary Kristi Noem to be impeached. He claims Noem lied to Congress and to the American people, and that under her watch, ICE agents have wreaked havoc across the country. “She has disgraced our democracy,” he said, and should be held accountable.

Unsurprisingly, the move has drawn fire from Trump supporters and MAGA loyalists. They’ve gone after Thanedar personally, mocking his background and even his accent. Nick Sortor posted on X, “Indian Rep. Shri Thanedar, who can barely even speak English, announces he’s introducing a bill to ABOLISH ICE. Tell this foreigner to go pound sand. REAL Americans back ICE and ICE’s mission. And honestly, I’d back ICE deporting this loser, too.”

Eric Daugherty chimed in, “Conservatives are demanding the expulsion and DEPORTATION of Indian Rep. Shri Thanedar (D) after he just announced legislation to ABOLISH ICE. The dude can barely speak our freaking language while pulling this stunt. SEND HIM BACK!”

But Thanedar isn’t standing alone. Other Democrats have rallied behind him. Congressman Ro Khanna told The Hill, “We should not be giving money for an increase in the ICE budget. We should be fighting this.” Ilhan Omar, who represents the Minneapolis district where Renee Good was killed, called ICE an “occupying force” and accused it of acting in a “lawless” way.

As for the public? People are split. A poll from Economist/YouGov, released January 13, found 46 percent of Americans want to end ICE, while 43 percent are against the idea. It’s a tight divide, and the debate isn’t going away anytime soon.

Why Shri Thanedar Wants the Agency Shut Within 90 Days

Shri Thanedar doesn’t hold back when it comes to Trump. He’s been calling him out for years. Last April, Thanedar even introduced seven articles of impeachment against Trump although he eventually dropped them.

Then, at a December 2025 hearing, he went after Kristi Noem, accusing her of “lying to the American people.”

Immigration’s another big topic for Thanedar. He’s been loud about supporting the H-1B visa program and pushing for more legal immigration. He points out that industries like tech just don’t work without skilled immigrants. At a bipartisan AI hearing last year, Thanedar put it plainly: “Trump’s second term has been all about hatred for immigrants, but the reality is that the tech sector is heavily dependent on skilled immigrants.”

Trump hasn’t ignored him, either. At a public event, Trump brushed Thanedar off and called him a “lunatic.”

Who is Shri Thanedar? 

So, who is Shri Thanedar, anyway? He grew up in Karnataka, India, and moved to the US in 1979. He earned his PhD in chemistry from the University of Akron and became a US citizen in 1988. Thanedar later started a pharmaceutical company in Michigan, according to American Bazaar.

He ran for governor of Michigan in 2018 but didn’t win. After that, he joined the state legislature and, in 2022, got elected to the US House of Representatives from Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.

He’s the first Indian-American from Michigan to make it to Congress, and just the fifth Indian-American ever elected to the House.

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