Senate Democrats played hardball on the government shutdown, and they won. Now, with the American people demanding that ICE be reined in, Democrats have done something that is both practical and hardline.
On the Senate floor, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer laid out what the Democrats, and the vast majority of Americans, want:
Let me be clear: Democrats are ready to pass five bipartisan funding bills in the Senate. We are ready to pass them today. We are ready to fund 96% of the federal government today. But the DHS bill still needs a lot of work.
So, after meeting yesterday as a caucus, Senate Democrats are united on three main goals that will rein in ICE and end the violence. Rein in ICE and end the violence. First, end roving patrols. Second, enforce accountability. Third, masks off and body cameras off. Each officer must have visible ID.
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So again, first, we need to end ICE’s indiscriminate patrols. We need to tighten the rules governing the use of warrants. ICE needs to stop the mass, chaotic patrols. They need to work with state law enforcement, local law enforcement–not against them. That means no more ICE agents barging into people’s homes without a judicial warrant. When does that ever happen in America? It’s a flagrant violation of the 4th amendment. It also means stopping the dragnet harassment of American communities.
First, laws and guardrails need to be established. Since ICE frequently ignores the law, consequences are the next step in any agreement.
The basic headline is that a deal was reached to avoid a shutdown, but the big story is that Democrats did something smart, which we will talk about below.