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Barry A Rosenbaum's avatar

I have written both of my Senators urging them to oppose any appropriations bill that maintains or increases ICE funding. In particular, they should oppose the DHS appropriations bill providing $10 billion for ICE enforcement for the 2026 fiscal year. The current iteration of ICE should never be called a law enforcement agency because it operates in total disregard of the law. Every day for some time, ICE agents have been pulling people out of cars, invading their homes, and kidnapping them off the street, with no apparent risk of discipline or consequence, and NOW INDISCRIMINATELY MURDERING THEM even though they have no legal cause or basis for their actions. This is no law enforcement organization any more than the KKK was a community group. ICE should be characterized for what it is—a Nazi goon squad or Trump’s personal paramilitary organization, whichever you prefer. These names reflect its essential character and conduct.

It would simply be unconscionably to support this illegal enterprise in any way until it is forced to adhere to the law. The Republican Party created this monster, and Democrats must not do anything which would aid in prolonging its devastating impact on communities throughout our country. Doing otherwise will be viewed as appeasement with the most horrific consequences that we have already witnessed. We all must act with the urgency and integrity that this period requires.

The Trump Administration is a criminal enterprise. We may have no recourse but to just shut it down.

Val's avatar

I'm glad that this is where you have landed Dan. It's been to my great frustration that Democratic representatives have been treating continued funding as the default instead of an active decision and cosigning of the administrations actions. Even if the result doesn't change, its important to show that we are opposition and act accordingly. I can only hope that Schumer fails at getting his gang of 8 together this go round.

Philosophy of A Mind's avatar

You mean bc they murdered a NURSE, who was already on the ground?!? Yup, some things are worth fighting for no matter what. If we do not stand up for this well, we stand for nothing. This just cannot be what our country devolves into, none of this.

Sibyl White's avatar

We must share widely Dan’s assessment. It is in our power to demand the blocking of the funding. Just as Minnesotans are rallying for justice at life threatening vigilanties, our risk is not even close to that same life threatening level.

Steve's avatar

Let me guess: all the shithead dems who are retiring will vote for this.

debbie's avatar

And Fetterman. The democrat that can’t be trusted.

Steve's avatar

We may as well call him a republican.

Jo B's avatar

I absolutely agree with you on this.

While potentially ‘losing’ this particular fight does not matter at this point, I honestly believe that large majority of Americans are VERY against unaccountable thugs occupying cities, murdering American citizens, snatching children & proudly violating people’s constitutional rights.

Kathy's avatar

This is absolutely the right stand to take and the time to take it. Funding ICE is not about immigration. It is about their lawless harassment that has made walking and driving the streets unsafe. Dem support for thus funding will be seen as betrayal of every person killed by ICE in Minnesota. In these cases, the over analysis of what angle the mom's tires were turning instead of as Dan rightly points out they should have never been there in the first place has got to end. We need to start telling people what they know but are not letting themselves believe. Your government is lying to you.

Meggie's avatar

Thank you for the clear and precise summary of the horrific murder of a 37 year old ICU Nurse who did NOT brandish a weapon but was shotnumerous times. ICE is a rogue lawless group of poorly trained thugs that escalate to violence and violate our rights.

TrishaMac's avatar

I emailed my senators and representative last week about not voting for the bill. Tried to leave a message today, but all voicemail boxes were full. I think they're getting an earful!

JSRS's avatar

YES! Ds absolutely need to fight back! Yes.

And, I see this as way beyond an immigration issue. The comms need to be "look what they will do to anyone in America!" Let's broaden the message to be more than immigration, to include their collecting names of voters, Jews, people with autism, etc. We are all threatened. We must fight.

Jennifer Nielsen's avatar

Brilliant and moral arguments once again.

Tal Harris's avatar

I will be calling and emailing, like I did last week, but I have very little hope the Dems will vote against it. I am doing this because we need to do everything we can, even if it has a low probability of working. We need to fight fascism on every front!

In general, however, the past predicts the future and that suggests that Schumer will lead the way to making sure this passes. Police in the U.S. kill an average of 3 people per day and politicians do not even entertain the idea of defunding police. For comparison, ICE is actually killing less people than the police. Think about that for a moment.

https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/

Furthermore, if they could stand by and let hundreds of thousands of Palestinians be massacred with American weapons, in violation of our own Leahy Laws, it’s hard to see them care about a handful of Americans dying.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1823oCBvuz/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

I'm mixed on this because the "ICE Funding Bill" isn't likely to substantially affect ICE funding, and it may well impact essential programs under DHS, e.g., FEMA. IOW, it's mostly symbolic but may have negative real-world effects. I'm also guessing that many Democratic legislators see the tradeoffs at least as well as I do. We shall see.