Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Republican nominee Mike Rogers, a former congressman, met for their final debate before Michigan’s November 3 election, with law enforcement policy emerging as a central flashpoint.
During the debate, El-Sayed said he believes Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be abolished. “I believe that we don’t need ICE. In fact, we can go back to INS, back to when we were a lot more safe and secure when it came to immigration,” he said. “And then, we need to make sure we have a clear pathway to citizenship so that people can come here and take opportunities that are legal for them.”
Rogers used the debate to accuse El-Sayed of favoring reduced police funding. “Abdul El-Sayed wants to DEFUND the police and put violent criminals back on the streets of Michigan,” Rogers said in comments shared on social media. “Rapist? Murder? Violent criminal? Abdul thinks you should be given a get-out-of-jail-free card. Abdul’s policies would make us less safe.”
El-Sayed has previously said publicly that he supports defunding police departments. In remarks circulated online, he stated, “I believe that we do need to defund the police.”
El-Sayed also deleted a number of past social media posts that had called for defunding police, according to posts preserved by other users online. When asked about the deletions during a CNN interview in June, El-Sayed did not directly answer the question about why the posts were removed. Instead, he said, “Let me just speak to a vision for public safety that I think all of us can agree with.”
On gun rights, El-Sayed has previously commented on the Second Amendment’s historical context, saying, “When they promised the right to bear arms, they had muskets. So, yeah, everyone should have equal rights to a musket.”
The debate was one of the final high-profile events before Michigan voters decide the open Senate seat on November 3.
