Adam's record on Immigration & ICE

Smith, in social media posts and a press release, said the Trump administration was defying the Supreme Court and called for Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return to the United States after his deportation to a prison in El Salvador. Smith issued a statement supporting Rep. McIver after she was criminally charged following a visit to an ICE detention facility in Newark, and joined letters with other Washington delegation members demanding answers about an ICE raid in Kent and about administration efforts to deport people to third countries. Smith issued a statement opposing the administration's newly announced travel ban on 12 countries and said he supported legislation that would limit a president's authority to restrict entry into the United States. On H.R. 2056, the District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act, Smith voted no on passage, which the House passed 224–194, and voted yes on a motion to recommit, which failed 205–215.

“This is a constitutional crisis.”

On July 18, Smith said Nicolle Forero and her family, who had sought asylum and were active in the local community, were deported to Colombia after what was supposed to be a routine court check-in on June 18. On August 4 he said the public must stand up to Trump's 'continued immigration raids,' among other policies; in mid-August he said constituents at a Renton Rotary Club meeting and a virtual town hall raised questions about the immigration system and pushing back against ICE raids; and on August 28 he said two firefighting crew members were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol while working a wildfire on the Olympic Peninsula, calling their treatment 'deeply troubling.' In September he said he joined 95 colleagues condemning the 'cruel detention and deportation' of Dreamers, and on September 22 he and Rep. Don Bacon, with Senators Hirono and Collins, introduced the Protect Adoptees and American Families Act to grant U.S. citizenship to international adoptees who lack citizenship status under a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. In October he said Republicans were lying about giving ACA benefits to immigrants without legal status and said people without legal status are ineligible for Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies.

“The treatment of these firefighters is deeply troubling”

In November and December 2025, Smith said he was an original cosponsor of the Lady Liberty Act, which would require the President to set a goal of admitting no less than 125,000 refugees annually, and said he had reintroduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act with Rep. Pramila Jayapal to add oversight and guardrails to immigration detention. Smith said ICE shot and killed a civilian in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, later named in his statements as Renee Good, called for a thorough investigation of the officer's actions, and said ICE needed to leave Minneapolis immediately and stand down across the country. Smith voted no on the Senate-passed funding package that included two weeks of funding for the Department of Homeland Security on February 3, 2026, and voted no on the Deporting Fraudsters Act, which passed the House 231-186, on March 18, 2026. He signed onto a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on January 27, 2026, and said in March 2026 that he supported funding every part of the Department of Homeland Security other than ICE and did not intend to give ICE more funding.

“No one should be subjected to overcrowded cells, denied medical care, or held in facilities that profit off of human suffering.”

On June 25, 2026, Smith said a Supreme Court ruling would allow the administration to deport thousands of people who had been living and working legally in the United States for years, describing it as a "cruel administration." On July 16, 2026, Smith said immigration reform should start with phasing out private, for-profit detention centers that have been criticized for unsafe and inhumane conditions, and he and @jayapal.house.gov introduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act to end the use of for-profit immigration detention facilities. On July 17, 2026, Smith and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi introduced the Welcome Back to the Health Care Workforce Act to help internationally educated health care professionals overcome licensing, credentialing, and language barriers to practicing in the United States. On July 25, 2026, Smith said two individuals had been fatally shot by ICE the previous week and said ICE must be restructured with clear guardrails and real accountability.

“ICE must be restructured with clear guardrails and real accountability to keep our communities safe.”