On the latest major issues, Gallego said he rejected the \u201cabolish ICE\u201d message<\/a> <\/strong>that many Democrats are now espousing. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you talk to working-class Latinos, we\u2019re very, unfortunately, we have too much experience with immigration. We know there needs to be an immigration force that deports bad people. We want bad people out. We want bad people stopped from getting in illegally,\u201d Gallego said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do need to reform it,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe need to right-size it. We need to pen it in to make sure that it\u2019s not being abusive. But this idea that there\u2019s not going to be an immigration enforcement mechanism this country is ridiculous, because that\u2019s never going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n On Israel, Gallego said he disagreed with those who have said they’d oppose defensive money for the country, including for the Iron Dome missile defense system.<\/p>\n Gallego said he does not support offering Israel money for offensive capabilities because he disagrees with many aspects of their military <\/strong>operations, including the war in Iran and the nation\u2019s treatment of Lebanon. But money for defense was different. <\/p>\n \u201cLike any other ally in this in this world, I can\u2019t imagine stopping defensive weapons going to any of our friends, because in that situation, if they\u2019re raining down bombs, you\u2019re hitting people that are, especially in Israel, they\u2019re Arabs, Christians, Jews, people that are pro-war, against war. It\u2019s indiscriminatory,\u201d said Gallego, who deployed to Iraq in 2005<\/a> and whose unit suffered heavy casualties. \u201cI know that\u2019s not a popular thing. I\u2019m sure everyone wants to be on the other side, but I\u2019ve seen civilians get hurt in war by both sides, and it\u2019s not, it\u2019s not something you want to be responsible for.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-04\/260404-Ruben-Gallego-Chicago-057-ew-244p-146179.jpg\")
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