We Won’t Vote for Funding Without Changes, Including Making Churches Off Limits
On MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) commented on the possibility of a government shutdown because of ICE by saying that among “the things that we think are appropriate in this case that we demand be part of any final bill” would be a requirement that “ICE should not be able to storm places of worship, hospitals and schools.”
Co-host Jonathan Lemire asked, “Chief Jeffries, let’s move on now and talk about the next government funding bill, whether the government will perhaps even shut down as that deadline approaches. And a thorny issue is funding the Department of Homeland Security, and, in particular, ICE, in the wake of that deadly shooting in Minneapolis a few weeks ago. Tell us about the divisions you and your colleagues feel. What happens next?”
Jeffries responded: “Well, ICE is completely and totally out of control. Donald Trump promised, when it comes to immigration enforcement, that the administration was going to target violent criminals who are here in the country illegally. That’s something that the American people support. The American people do not support the targeting, arrest, detention, brutalization of American citizens, certainly do not find the murder of Renee Nicole Good and the targeting of respectful immigrant families and communities acceptable. And so, I think, from our perspective — and we’ll have a discussion in about an hour at our Caucus meeting about the way forward — but it’s clear that there have to be accountability mechanisms that. [are] enacted so that ICE behaves like all other law enforcement agencies in the United States of America. That’s not too much to ask. So some of the things that we think are appropriate in this case require that they be part of any final bill, are a mandate requirement. It’s common sense. ICE should not be able to storm places of worship, hospitals and schools. It’s common sense. This relates to protocols that exist for every other law enforcement agency in the country. ICE should have a use of force standard. None currently exist. Of course, the idea that masked ICE agents are brutalizing American citizens, using taxpayer dollars, is completely unacceptable. So these are the kinds of things that we believe should be put in place to control ICE, consistent with the demands of the American people. »
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