Since their brutal 2024 loss, Democrats have been in full panic mode trying to rebuild their shattered party. The problem? The loudest voices in the room—led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—are still pushing the very ideas that turned off swing voters in the first place. Chief among them: abolishing ICE.

On Monday, AOC used a campaign email to declare, yet again, her desire to shut down Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Calling it a “rogue agency” created under the Patriot Act, she insisted ICE should be dismantled. While that may still play well on TikTok, it’s political poison in most of the country.

Moderate Democrats are panicking. The Biden-era border chaos still haunts the party’s polling numbers, and the Trump administration has made mass deportations a central—and popular—pillar of its comeback. A January Axios/Ipsos poll found that 87% of voters, including a strong majority of Democrats, want illegal immigrants with criminal records deported. That doesn’t exactly scream “Abolish ICE.”

The divide is growing. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has tried to walk a tightrope, offering tepid support for border security while avoiding direct conflict with the party’s socialist wing. But AOC and her Squad aren’t softening their stance. And they’re increasingly seen as the ones actually steering the ship.

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville warned months ago that the far left has become an albatross around the party’s neck. Speaking to Piers Morgan, he didn’t mince words: “Every person in history that has listened to the far-left… has lived to regret it. These people have never been right about a single thing.”

Carville’s frustration isn’t isolated. Many Democrats now admit Biden governed far more to the left than advertised—and that it cost them dearly. Some even suggest the former president wasn’t fully in charge, citing scandals involving the autopen and allegations he was merely rubber-stamping the progressive agenda without full knowledge of what he was signing.

Meanwhile, Republicans are capitalizing. Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has been swift and decisive. From mass deportations to restored border control measures, the message is clear: no more chaos.

The contrast couldn’t be starker. While Trump rallies independents and blue-collar voters with tangible results, AOC is doubling down on the rhetoric that turned off millions. Calls to abolish ICE, defund the police, and defend violent protests may energize the radical base—but they’re alienating the middle of the electorate just as Republicans gear up for the 2026 midterms.

NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella put it bluntly: “House Democrat Minority Leader AOC is doubling down on their party’s most extreme, unhinged agenda… At this rate, the Democrat platform in 2026 will be a fever dream of defunding the police, wide open borders, and far-left hellscapes.”

And he’s not wrong. Democrats once again find themselves at the mercy of their loudest—and least electable—faction. They had a chance to course-correct after 2024. Instead, they’re letting AOC and the Squad steer them into another iceberg.

As the party’s moderates fumble and its radicals roar louder, one truth becomes clearer by the day: Democrats are still at war with reality, and reality is winning.