Democrats are about to make a big mistake on organized retail theft bill

Opinion>Congress Blog>Congress Blog - Homeland Security The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill Democrats are about to make a big mistake on organized retail theft bill Comments: by Aiden Cotter, opinion contributor - 06/26/26 1:30 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Aiden Cotter, opinion contributor - 06/26/26 1:30 PM ET Comments: Link copied

FILE – The seal of U.S. Department of Homeland Security is seen before a news conference at ICE Headquarters in Washington, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Earlier this month, every Democratic member of Congress stood united in listening to voters across the political spectrum and rejected nearly $70 billion in additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security — specifically, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. They now face a test of whether that opposition was more than rhetoric alone.

Last month,144 House Democrats joined their GOP colleagues in passing the Combating Organized Crime Act. This bill purports to solve the real problem of organized retail theft but instead massively expands Department of Homeland Security power at a moment when the agency already faces serious accountability concerns due to a rampant and unchecked ICE.

While many Democrats clearly saw the Combating Organized Crime Act as a measure to protect retailers, some saw through it as a giveaway to Homeland Security. Perhaps most tellingly, ten Democratic co-sponsors of the bill withdrew their support the night of the vote.

Almost immediately after the House vote, the backlash began. In Michigan, state Rep. Donovan McKinney said that his opponent “just voted again to hand ICE & Trump your data.” Across the country, several other Democratic candidates attacked their primary opponent for their vote, including Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Ethan Wechtaluk in Maryland, and Jason Poulos in Massachusetts.

Now the bill heads to the Senate, where Democrats must confront a fundamental question: Why would they choose this moment, weeks after voting to deny any new funding for ICE, to massively expand the Department of Homeland Security’s already-expansive surveillance powers? Especially considering public confidence in the department — and particularly ICE — is in free fall.

The answer is obvious: they shouldn’t.

While it may look like a commonsense crime bill on the surface, the Combating Organized Crime Act would establish a central intelligence hub for retail theft within the Department of Homeland Security, expanding the agency’s access to protected data from corporations and their influence on local police. When the legislation was first introduced in 2022, and reintroduced in 2023, co-sponsors intended such powers for a markedly different Homeland Security. But the political and institutional landscape of 2026 bears little resemblance to that of 2023.

Over the past year, the department has hoarded sensitive data from Medicaid, the IRS, Social Security, private data brokers, police departments, and tech companies. It has spent millions on intrusive surveillance tools tracking the movements and locations of private citizens (including protesters), bolstering its massive database. The Combating Organized Crime Act would add data from major retailers, transportation companies and more.

Democrats have spent months arguing that unchecked Department of Homeland Security authority poses a threat to civil liberties and democratic accountability. So why are so many, including 13 Democratic Senate co-sponsors, now prepared to hand that same department even more power?

In a recent poll, 70 percent of voters, including a majority of Republicans surveyed, stated they would prefer an approach to organized retail theft that empowers local law enforcement, provides more resources to businesses, and strengthens accountability for online resale platforms over an approach that expands the Department of Homeland Security’s policing and intelligence sharing infrastructure. Voters are calling for targeted, accountable solutions — not a broader expansion of federal surveillance and enforcement powers.

Senate Democrats can acknowledge the seriousness of organized retail theft while rejecting the false choice between public safety and civil liberties. Most importantly, they can show voters that their concerns about Homeland Security overreach are more than campaign rhetoric.

Democrats have drawn a line in the sand on ICE. Now is the time to hold it.

Aiden Cotter is director of Federal Advocacy for Vera Action

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