My Democratic colleagues have opposed President Donald Trump’s agenda time and time again, and that is their right. But their decision to close the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not an innocent act of political play; it’s incredibly dangerous.
In the month since Democrats voted to deny funding to DHS, the United States has suffered at least four apparent terrorist attacks.
On March 1, a gunman wearing a “Property of Allah” shirt killed three Americans and injured thirteen others outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in Austin, Texas. On March 7, two men threw explosives into a crowd of protesters near Gracie Mansion in New York City. The men told New York police they had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. They had hoped to kill more people than the Boston bombers, but the courageous acts of NYPD officers on the ground thwarted their attack.
DHS HAMMERS DEMS OVER AIRPORT SECURITY LINES AGAINST FUNDING DECLINE
On March 12, a gunman – who had been released from prison after providing material support to ISIS – entered a classroom on the Old Dominion University campus, shouted “Allahu Akbar” and opened fire. He killed an ROTC instructor before brave students stopped him. That same day, a man in West Bloomfield, Michigan, injured a security guard when he rammed his vehicle into the Temple Israel synagogue while kindergarten was in session. According to the Israeli government, the suspect – who apparently shot himself during a shootout with Temple security – had a brother who was a member of the terrorist group Hezbollah.
These terrorists killed four Americans and injured dozens more. It sickens me to imagine how many more people could have died without the bravery of local law enforcement, the Temple’s armed security, and Old Dominion’s ROTC students.
These attacks on American soil all took place against the backdrop of President Trump’s decisive action in Iran. To be clear, President Trump had no choice but to attack Iran. He wasn’t trying to start a war; he’s trying to end one. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – who had the same affinity for killing Americans as the terrorists who just struck in the United States – wanted to resume building nuclear weapons, and he could have done so if we had not quickly halted the production of Iranian missiles and drones.
I am confident that our pilots will destroy Iran’s missile stockpile, but that will not eliminate the threat to the American people. The Ayatollah may have used his last rotten breath to activate sleeper cells in the United States. These lone-wolf terrorists may be plotting more attacks here at home, and we have no idea how many terrorists are living among us because President Biden has left our border wide open for four years.
During that time, the Biden administration has allowed at least 99 known individuals from the terrorist watch list into the country — and those are just the suspects we are aware of. It will take an all-hands-on-deck effort to find and deport every terrorist lurking among the estimated millions of unvetted people the Biden administration has released into our country.
Yet DHS, which employs the very people who should be hunting these lone wolves, is being shut down because my Democratic colleagues have had a month-long tantrum.
At the heart of this collapse is the fact that many of my Democratic colleagues want open borders. They don’t think we should deport anyone, and they hold DHS funding hostage because they hate the idea that Customs and Border Protection or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could actually enforce our immigration laws.
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In turn, they have issued a series of demands to resume financing. Some requests were reasonable and the Trump administration agreed to implement them as quickly as possible. For example, all ICE officers will wear body cameras during future operations. They would do it now, but it’s hard to buy cameras if Democrats won’t approve their funding.
The remaining Democratic demands are stupid on the weapons level. For example, they want to ban ICE agents from wearing masks and force them to put their names on their uniforms. This policy would endanger the lives of ICE agents and their families. We cannot expect these law enforcement officials to focus on hunting down terrorists when anti-ICE lunatics follow their vehicles or show up at their churches.
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We all know some Democrats hate President Trump more than the devil hates holy water, but we’ve seen four apparent terrorist attacks in two weeks. The Department of Homeland Security is not a pawn in a political game. We need these officers focused on tracking down sleeper cells, not their missing paychecks.
To my Democratic colleagues: Don’t wait for another attack to get serious about protecting America’s security. Reopen DHS today.
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