EXCLUSIVE: As Durbin and Dems attack ICE and detention facilities, Andy Barr pushes back: “Socialist movement to abolish ICE”

As Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) escalates his attacks on ICE detention facilities and Democrats continue targeting immigration enforcement, rising Republican star Rep. Andy Barr (R., Ky.) is pushing back, arguing that efforts to weaken ICE would put Americans at greater risk.

In an exclusive statement to the Washington Reporter, Barr said Democrats’ long-running campaign against ICE has real-world consequences for public safety.

“The Socialist movement to abolish ICE and open our borders would put every Kentuckian and every American at greater risk. In April, ICE prevented the release of an illegal convicted of raping a 12-year-old boy. Just weeks earlier, ICE deported an illegal in Woodford County who had also raped a young boy. This shouldn’t be political. We should stand with law enforcement, enforce our immigration laws, and keep our communities safe,” Barr said.

Barr’s come as Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won the Michigan Democratic party running on a platform of defunding ICE–now a fairly mainstream position within the Democratic party.

They also come in the wake of Senator Durbin facing criticism over his work to attack an ICE family detention center. Republicans and the Trump Administration argued the report was a one-sided political stunt designed to undermine immigration enforcement by building support for shutting down detention facilities altogether.

The Washington Reporter recently argued that Durbin’s report was simply the latest attempt to cripple ICE by targeting the detention infrastructure the agency relies upon to enforce the nation’s immigration laws.

For Republicans, Barr’s comments represent the broader response to Durbin’s campaign. Republicans are increasingly arguing that Democratic attacks on ICE and detention facilities would make it harder to detain and deport dangerous criminal illegal aliens.

Barr made that case by pointing to two recent Kentucky cases involving illegal immigrants convicted of sexually assaulting children.

Republicans also increasingly believe Democrats have handed them a political opportunity. After immigration emerged as one of President Trump’s strongest issues with voters, GOP lawmakers have sought to make Democratic opposition to ICE, deportations, and detention facilities a defining political liability heading into November.

Barr enters the general election after one of the most impressive primary victories of the 2026 cycle. He won more than 61% of the vote, defeating Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the Republican Party’s 2023 nominee for governor, as well as businessman Nate Morris, whose campaign was backed with massive funding from Elon Musk.

Republican strategists viewed the decisive victory as a validation of Barr’s disciplined campaign and conservative message, further elevating his standing inside the Senate Republican Conference, where many expect him to arrive as one of the chamber’s most influential freshman senators.

“Rep. Andy Barr ran the best Republican campaign of the cycle and the fact that he’s willing to defend immigration enforcement and make Durbin’s stunts a liability for the Democrats shows his political savvy,” a Senate Republican source told the Washington Reporter on background. “He’s right that criminal illegal aliens have done massive damage in Kentucky and this is another sign that he’s going to be an influential senator on day one.”

Barr’s remarks underscore a broader Republican strategy that has become increasingly clear in recent weeks. As Democrats continue attacking ICE and immigration detention, Republicans are working to keep the focus on the violent criminals ICE removes from American communities, arguing that enforcement and public safety should not be partisan issues.