Dem Socialist Candidate Wants To Use The Troops Against ICE

The Democratic Socialist candidate for Wisconsin governor, who is currently leading the Democratic primary, advocated for using American troops to round up Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents operating in the Badger State.

Wisconsin State Rep. Francesca Hong made the remarks during an October appearance on Resistance Radio, when host Dane Snudden asked about the importance of having “a leader that is going to stand up to Trump.”

“I don’t want us to continue to rely on law enforcement, but if the National Guard has to be out here arresting ICE agents, you have to meet state-sanctioned violence with parts of the state sometimes,” Hong said during the October 31 podcast episode.

EXCLUSIVE: Francesca Hong, the leading Democratic candidate for Governor of Wisconsin, said that, if elected, she would deploy the National Guard to arrest ICE agents in the state. pic.twitter.com/GbftCCSG6L

— The Heartland Post (@HeartlandPostWI) May 28, 2026

Hong has previously espoused an anti-ICE stance, saying that “dismantling ICE is the bare minimum.”

“Merely removing enforcers of fascism is not enough. We need investments in community care not state sanctioned violence,” Hong said.

She also accused ICE of “tearing apart families and our communities with unconstitutional practices that threaten public safety.”

Last year, Hong introduced a series of bills to ban ICE agents from wearing masks and end state and local cooperation with the agency.

Hong has also presented an anti-police stance more broadly.

In a 2020 X post, Hong wrote that she supports “defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police.” Months later, she argued that “police exist to uphold white supremacy,” before saying, “defund then abolish,” and that “reform can’t be an option.”

When asked recently by CNN about her past advocacy for abolishing the police, Hong called it part of a “wider conversation around police abolition” since “the current system is not working.”

Hong added that she wouldn’t make “arbitrary cuts” to public safety budgets as governor.

“While I envision a world where public safety is not synonymous with law enforcement, I recognize that this paradigm shift is a very long-term vision and my focus is building systems of care for now and for our future,” she said.

With Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary set for August 11, Hong is currently the leading candidate in the field, which includes Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, and state Sen. Kelda Roys. The eventual Democratic opponent will face Republican Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany in November’s general election.

A Marquette Law School poll released in March found Hong leading her Democrat opponents with 14% support, with Barnes polling at 11%. Roughly 65% of the Democratic primary voters were still undecided.