Who is Karishma Manzur? Bangladeshi-born Democrat calls to defund ICE, says agents may be from ‘extremist groups’

A New Hampshire Democratic Senate candidate stirred a row after calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be defunded and questioning whether some of its agents are linked to extremist groups.Karishma Manzur, who is challenging Congressman Chris Pappas for the Democratic nomination, made the remarks during a recent appearance on WMUR’s CloseUp. A short clip from the interview showed her criticizing ICE, which drew backlash from social media users who said how can a foreigner talk about the defunding of federal agencies in the first place.

Asked directly whether she supported abolishing ICE, Manzur responded: “We should absolutely defund ICE. Yes.” She went on to reject the idea that the agency functions as law enforcement. “ICE is not law enforcement. ICE is acting like a paramilitary force,” she said.Manzur accused ICE agents of operating in ways that intimidate immigrant communities beyond legal pathways. “They’re going in fatigues into communities, terrorizing these communities, grabbing people out of their cars, knocking on doors, asking, using threatening language,” she said. “That’s not law enforcement.”Referring to recent videos going viral online showing the brutality and aggression of ICE agents, she added: “When I look at ICE and the videos that are coming out of Minnesota, that’s not police. That’s not law enforcement, that’s thuggish behavior.”During the same exchange, Manzur raised questions about the identities of ICE agents. “So actually, let’s talk about who those agents are. Do we even know who they are?” she asked. She added, “Why are they always covering up their faces? Are they January 6th insurrectionists? Are they Proud Boys? Are they coming out of some extremist group? This is very concerning.”Manzur also said that she believes federal funding should be redirected if ICE were defunded. She said Customs and Border Protection should receive appropriate funding, while ICE’s budget should be reassigned. “I think those $30 billion that is being given to ICE should be given to our town police, our city police, our state police as well as the federal police,” she said.Karishma Manzur is a New Hampshire Democrat and scientist running for the US Senate in the 2026 election. She holds a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology and has campaigned on progressive issues, including defunding ICE, universal healthcare, and limiting big money in politics.