Here Are All the Democrats Who Voted to Keep Funding ICE

In apparent, blissful ignorance of the ICE-induced chaos in the country, several House Democrats voted alongside nearly all Republican members to give more money to the immigration agency.

The Department of Homeland Security’s $64.4 billion bill passed 220-207 on Thursday, with seven Democrats voting in favor. They were Representatives Henry Cuellar (Texas), Tom Suozzi (New York), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Laura Gillen (New York), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), Jared Golden (Maine) and Don Davis (North Carolina).

Before the vote, Suozzi wrote online that while there “is no question that ICE has overstepped its bounds,” he was willing to continue feeding the agency in order to avoid a government shutdown.

“I’m voting for the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, not to expand ICE enforcement or add more agents, but to fund the core operations that Americans rely on every day, FEMA disaster response, TSA security, Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, passport processing and other essential services,” Suozzi job on X.

Suozzi also argued that the funding bill was the “product of bipartisan negotiations and responsible governance” and would provide funding for these essential agencies and services without increasing ICE’s budget.

Gillen published a similar statementsaying his support was motivated by the advancement of FEMA disaster relief. Other Gillen priorities addressed in the package included efforts to end child trafficking and the spread of fentanyl, as well as new support for cybersecurity and law enforcement.

“I am shocked that my colleagues would vote to defund Homeland and Community Security while allowing ICE to operate under the status quo,” she said. wrote.

Democrats in favor of the bill tried to highlight its meager victories in reining in ICE: $20 million to equip ICE staff with body cameras, reductions in ICE funding for enforcement and deportation operations, and a reduction in the number of detention beds.

But most of the caucus viewed the funding plan as a broken version of their current policy positions, chastising their colleagues for supporting the agency at a time when ICE employs underqualified personnel en masse and granting them broad immunity to harass, intimidate and harm American communities. A favorable vote, according to some Democrats, could bode ill in the midterms.

“You can’t outsmart Republican Republicans, because you’re going to lose your base and you’re not going to get any Republicans to join you,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal said. NBC News.

Meanwhile, one Republican voted against the measure — Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie — although his opposition had nothing to do with what’s happening in Minneapolis, Chicago or other ICE hot spots.

In a post onMassie argued that even though he “voted for the SAVE Act and supported[s] deport illegal immigrants,” he would not approve of increased financial support for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which he derided as “the liberals’ favorite censorship agency.”

“I do not support online censorship,” Massie wrote.