Democratic congressional leaders projected unity and demanded wide-ranging reforms to President Trump’s immigration crackdown as they kicked off crucial talks with Republicans on funding the Department of Homeland Security.
Minority leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries vowed to block appropriations for DHS, which includes agencies spearheading the anti-immigrant operation in Minneapolis and other cities, unless Trump and his GOP leaders agree to a laundry list of reforms.
“What’s happening in our cities just turns our stomachs inside out,” Schumer told reporters. “This is not America. What the hell is going on?”
Jeffries declared: “We are united in reining in an agency that is out of control.”
Flanked by House and Senate Democrats, the two Brooklyn lawmakers issued a three-point plan to put significant guardrails on the unpopular mass deportation campaign that they said has wreaked havoc on the streets of American cities and led to the killings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
The proposed reforms include mandating that immigration officers wear body cameras, carry visible identification and stop wearing masks to hide their identities.
They also want extensive oversight over the sprawling operation in Minneapolis and other cities, including legal accountability for alleged misconduct and independent investigations of the killings of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Democrats also called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to carry out only targeted arrests of criminal suspects and end roving patrols that sweep up suspected undocumented immigrants and even U.S. citizens based on their race or the language they speak.
Schumer said ICE “goons that roam the streets” should be barred from schools, houses of worship and election polling places.
“We’re united with the American people,” said Schumer. “This is turning America inside out.”
There was no immediate response from Trump or GOP congressional leaders to the salvos from Schumer and Jeffries that were aimed at kicking off negotiations for a deal by next Friday, when a stopgap funding bill for DHS expires.
Trump and Schumer forged a deal that won Democratic backing for other spending bills to fund the rest of the government and avert a government shutdown.
They agreed to extend DHS funding only until Feb. 13, potentially giving Democrats leverage to force reforms in exchange for their support, especially in the Senate where 60 votes are needed to pass bills.
After months of tough rhetoric and aggressively escalating his mass deportation effort, Trump has recently shown signs of a softer line.
He reshuffled the leadership of the Minneapolis operation after the Pretti killing sparked widespread bipartisan outrage.
Border czar Tom Homan announced a drawdown of 700 immigration officers from Minneapolis and said further reductions are possible if state and local officials continue cooperating with efforts to nab criminals.
