Reacting to a new Gallup poll finding that public attitudes toward immigration have become more positive since last year, MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin cheerfully mused on Saturday over the possibility that Democrats will return to talk of abolishing ICE.

Without mentioning that, according to the poll, 59 percent of Americans still support hiring more border patrol agents, co-host Antonia Hylton speculated about why some Americans have changed their minds and wondered how the polling might affect how Democrats approach the issue:

So two things can be true. You did vote for this, but then also to see it in action is a completely different experience, I think. Do you see now that this polling has come out -- I'm curious how you think Democrats -- about how Democrats are going to re-strategize around this. Because a significant amount of the party still believes that when you're battling against someone like Donald Trump, what you're supposed to do is actually try to meet them where they are and match them on issues like immigration.

After Mohyeldin injected, "Like talk policy," Hylton added:

Exactly, or try to prove that they have some, like, level of right-wing bona fides on the issue. Do you think now they'll look at this and go, "Oh, wait a minute. We can go back to a different message. We can talk about the American Dream and the value of immigrants, and maybe that won't be a huge risk to us"?

Mohyeldin then began grinning as he seemed to pine for Democrats to double down on the more far-left talk from a few years ago about actually abolishing ICE:

MOHYELDIN: Or we can -- we can say, "Abolish ICE." That was the thing at one point, do you remember? Everybody was like talking about abolishing ICE. That was --

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Well, it wasn't -- now, I don't think everybody -- and Democrats were freaked out by that -- by that slogan.

MOHYELDIN: Correct, but what I meant to say, to Antonia's point, is "Abolish ICE" was something that you could say, and it was a debate within the Democratic party whether that should be part of the platform. Obviously, they did not go that route, and now we're here in the situation where, as you were saying, they're kid of wishy-washy on what they should do. We've had many members of Congress sit in that chair who have -- I've asked, "Should ICE be abolished?" And they're still kind of tiptoeing around it even though ICE is acting with more impunity -- masks, some are even saying that's illegal.

A couple of hours later, as Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) appeared as a guest, Mohyeldin began the segment by bringing up the issue again as he complained about recent ICE actions:

MOHYELDIN: Last time you were on the show, I asked you if ICE should be abolished. You said ICE should be reformed. And I want to keep coming back to this because I think the more we see of ICE, the more we see of its egregious behavior -- the impunity that it's operating with, the fact that it is becoming almost a stand-alone military --

CONGRESSMAN ADRIANO ESPAILLAT (D-NY): It's a runaway train.

MOHYELDIN: It's a runaway train. And do you still believe that it can be reformed? I mean, you have introduced legislation in the past about abolishing ICE, and I'm curious to know why you changed.

Transcript follows:

MSNBC's The Weekend Primetime

July 12, 2025

6:24 p.m. Eastern

ANTONIA HYLTON: So two things can be true. You did vote for this, but then also to see it in action is a completely different experience, I think. Do you see now that this polling has come out -- I'm curious how you think Democrats about how Democrats are going to re-strategize around this. Because a significant amount of the party still believes that when you're battling against someone like Donald Trump, what you're supposed to do is actually try to meet them where they are and match them on issues like immigration.

AYMAN MOHYELDIN: Like talk policy.

HYLTON: Exactly, or try to prove that they have some, like, level of right-wing bona fides on the issue. Do you think now they'll look at this and go, "Oh, wait a minute. We can go back to a different message. We can talk about the American Dream and the value of immigrants, and maybe that won't be a huge risk to us"?

MOHYELDIN: Or we can -- we can say, "Abolish ICE." That was the thing at one point, do you remember? Everybody was like talking about abolishing ICE. That was --

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Well, it wasn't -- now, I don't think everybody -- and Democrats were freaked out by that -- by that slogan.

MOHYELDIN: Correct, but what I meant to say, to Antonia's point, is "Abolish ICE" was something that you could say, and it was a debate within the Democratic party whether that should be part of the platform. Obviously, they did not go that route, and now we're here in the situation where, as you were saying, they're kid of wishy washy on what they should do. We've had many members of Congress sit in that chair who have -- I've asked, "Should ICE be abolished?" And they're still kind of tiptoeing around it even though ICE is acting with more impunity -- masks, some are even saying that's illegal.

(...)

8:17 p.m. Eastern

MOHYELDIN: Last time you were on the show, I asked you if ICE should be abolished. You said ICE should be reformed. And I want to keep coming back to this because I think the more we see of ICE, the more we see of its egregious behavior -- the impunity that it's operating with, the fact that it is becoming almost a stand alone military --

CONGRESSMAN ADRIANO ESPAILLAT (D-NY): It's a runaway train.

MOHYELDIN: It's a runaway train. And do you still believe that it can be reformed? I mean, you have introduced legislation in the past about abolishing ICE, and I'm curious to know why you changed.