WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders say a proposal from the White House is “incomplete and insufficient” as they are demanding new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and threatening a shutdown of the Homeland Security Department.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement late Monday that a White House counterproposal to the list of demands they transmitted over the weekend “included neither details nor legislative text” and does not address “the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct.” The White House proposal was not released publicly.
The Democrats’ statement comes as time is running short, with another partial government shutdown threatening to begin Saturday. Among the Democrats’ demands are a requirement for judicial warrants, better identification of DHS officers, new use-of-force standards and a stop to racial profiling. They say such changes are necessary after two protesters were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
If this shutdown has the ability to target only DHS, why is it even a fucking question? They’re literally killing people, celebrating it, and threatening to escalate and kill even more.
This is a layup.
At least, it’s a layup if you aren’t a limp-dick collaborator like Jeffries or Schumer.
The only reason this shutdown would target only DHS is that the funding bills for all the other agencies were passed and signed by the President. DHS is the only entity that isn’t funded for the fiscal year yet. (Although Republicans have ensured that ICE has plenty of money, any DHS shutdown won’t affect their operations at all.)
So, maybe there was a plan all along to maneuver Republicans into leaving the DHS bill as the last one to pass, so that a targeted shutdown can happen? That doesn’t fit the narrative of Schumer and Jeffries being incompetent, though.
Ah, so as usual, it would really only be performative.
That makes more sense. Dems love pretending to be principled when the only requirement is that it be consequence free for the ruling class.
My mind has been sitting on a darker interpretation.
If there’s a DHS shutdown but ICE is fully funded already, what is the executive’s next move?
Obviously it’s to task ICE, as the sole remaining federal policing agency, to take over the responsibilities of DHS. It would be the only responsible thing for the law and order party to do, after all. Just until DHS funding is renewed, of course.
Interesting take. Thank you.
The goal here would be to have ICE in place in all states before the Midterms, as the only force available to provide election oversight.