Ranking Member Thompson: ICE Reducing Operations, Releasing Detainees a Direct Result of Republicans’ Political Games and Governing Failures
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the below statement on news reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will soon be forced to reduce operations and release significant numbers of detainees because of Republicans refusing to fund the nation’s border security operations – or even consider bipartisan border security legislation:
“Republicans have been playing with fire for months, by refusing to fund needed border security operations and instead pursuing a sham impeachment, all because Donald Trump wants a political wedge issue to run on in an election year.
“Now, because Republicans refuse to actually govern and have stated they won’t provide ‘another dime’ to DHS, ICE will soon be forced to reduce operations and release significant numbers of detainees. ICE has told us that this will ‘significantly harm border security, national security, and public safety.’
“To be clear, this is the direct fault of Republicans and their constant political games. The Senate bipartisan border supplemental, which Senate Republicans just scuttled days ago and Speaker Johnson said was ‘dead on arrival,’ would have provided an additional $7.6 billion to ICE, including $3.2 billion for detention capacity alone, more than covering any shortfall. Republicans never gave a legitimate reason for abandoning this legislation. The extreme House Republican demand, H.R. 2, does not actually appropriate any funding for ICE operations.
“It's clear that the American people are now very aware that Republicans don’t want any border security solutions. If it is a crisis at the border, then Republicans must agree to fix it now. If it’s a crisis, then any solution must be bipartisan. It’s time to end the partisan games.”
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