The movement among Senate Democrats to block funding for ICE by not advancing the Department of Homeland Security budget was growing earlier. ICE agents shot another innocent American, Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis.
Senate Democrats will do something Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recommended by blocking the budget bill that would fund ICE.
The shift was set in motion when one of the Democrats who voted to reopen the government made a statement after the Trump administration’s latest killing in Minneapolis.
Senator Jackie Rosen (D-NV) said:
The abuse of power we see with ICE in Minneapolis and across the country is un-American and cannot be normalized. Nobody wants criminals in our country, but that is not what this government is after. They target law-abiding immigrants who just want to support their families and live the American Dream. They go after immigrants who have asylum or other forms of legal protection to come into our country. They go after American citizens who disagree with their tactics – and in less than a month, two of our fellow Americans in Minneapolis have been murdered as a result.
Enough is enough. We must rein in ICE’s out-of-control behavior.
As a member of the United States Senate, I have a responsibility to hold the Trump administration accountable when I see abuses of power – as we are seeing now with ICE. That is why I will vote against any government funding package that includes the bill that funds this agency until we put in place guardrails to curtail this abuse of power and ensure greater accountability and transparency.
The first step in the process of reining in ICE is to pass legislation, because when that legislation becomes law, it gives the courts the power to act if ICE or its agents are found to be violating the law.
Rosen was just the beginning, as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed in a statement that Democrats would not provide votes for ICE funding.
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