Break ICE Now!
Government shutdown be damned! Senate Democrats must hold the line on additional DHS funding until this ICE-inflicted national nightmare comes to an end.
There is the sound of ICE cracking in Minneapolis even though daytime highs remain in the single digits. After the murder of Alex Pretti by federal agents, the warming hearts of the American people are leading to signs of a partial ICE retreat from Minnesota. Video of the gruesome, extrajudicial murder of the ICU nurse has caused a massive shift in public opinion away from the unconstitutional, inhuman orgy of cruelty the Trump Administration has unleashed on the City of Minneapolis. While I was game planning worst-case-scenario strategies to oust Trump and Vance and replace them with a Libertarian Republican, the soul of America was transforming in ways few could have anticipated after the callous response to ICE agent Jonathan Ross’s murder of Renee Good just a few short weeks ago.
I’ll let others try to explain why the shooting of an armed white male with a concealed carry permit would have far greater impact on American public opinion than the shooting of an LGBTQ mom in an SUV. One thing is for sure: this time is different. The Trump Administration has lost all but its most sadistic and servile followers. The NRA called the Trump Administration’s suggestion that Pretti’s death was justified because he lawfully exercised his 2nd Amendment rights while simultaneously exercising his 1st Amendment rights, “dangerous and wrong.” Steven Nekhaila, the chair of the Libertarian National Committee, joined the rising chorus of Americans shouting “Abolish ICE!” Growing numbers of Republicans are calling for full investigations into Pretti’s slaying rather than pointing the finger at Minnesota Democrats for merely reminding their constituents that they have a Constitutional right to protest oppression and naked aggression. The Trump Administration has found that partisan loyalties can only withstand so many obvious lies, so many shameless slanders, so much unrestrained lawless cruelty, so many flagrant violations of the Constitution before everyone other than their demented loyalists starts to scream ENOUGH!!!
Visible cracks are forming in the ICE occupation of Minnesota. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, the diminutive Third Reich-coded face of DHS operations in the Twin Cities, has been fired. Trump is boasting about having a “very good telephone conversation“ with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey rather than talking about arresting him for fomenting domestic terrorism. The MAGA occupation of Minneapolis appears to be maneuvering toward partial retreat.
Now is the time for Democrats to take the offensive and break ICE for good, not become complacent and cheer the faintest, fleeting signs of decency and accountability coming from the Trump Administration. From George Washington’s retreat out of New York to Mao’s Long March, partial retreats have led to ultimate victory before. If the slightest relaxation of Trump’s grip on the throat of Minneapolis makes Democrats worry about appearing soft on immigration in future elections, the battle to preserve the Constitutional Rights of Americans from the MAGA menace could be lost in the long run. Democrats will lose all moral momentum if they worry at all about the need to get immigrants out of the country when we need to get murderous violators of the Constitution out of the White House.
Average Americans have met the moral moment of Alex Pretti’s death by dramatically shifting the call to abolish ICE from a fringe, woke pipe dream to the plurality opinion of the polled electorate. The question now remains: will Democrats meet this moral moment and use what leverage they have to end the nightmare in Minneapolis? That leverage comes from a spending bill that is now before the Senate. The legislation that must pass this Friday to avoid another government shutdown is actually a minibus combination of six separate funding bills, only one of which funds the Department of Homeland Security, with yet another $10 billion going to ICE. So far, Republicans have rebuffed calls by Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer to remove the DHS appropriations and have ICE funding considered in a separate bill.
Democrats cannot flinch. They must shut down the government as long as it takes to get the DHS appropriations removed from the general funding bill. Even if Republicans relent and remove DHS funding from the minibus bill to avoid a government shutdown, Senate Democrats must not go the route of seven cowardly House Democrats, who voted yes on funding the Department of Homeland Security with additional resources being funneled to ICE. Senate Democrats must hold the line against all DHS funding until sweeping reforms are made that bring a permanent end to this flagrant abuse of federal power. Not a dime should be given to DHS until all of the following demands are met:
All federal agents must be unmasked and wear badges that clearly identify their name and position.
Halt all constitutionally objectionable directives (e.g., assaulting protestors exercising their 1st Amendment right to free speech and assembly, breaking into private residences without a judicial warrant in violation of the 4th Amendment, the detention and deportation of individuals without judicial oversight guaranteed by their 5th Amendment right to due process, etc.)
Immediate withdrawal of ICE and Border Control agents from Minneapolis and all other cities 100 miles or more from the U.S. Border for a 60-day cooling-off period.
Immediate Firing of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Christy Noem and U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller.
Issue public apologies to the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, along with payments made to the families of each in the amount of $10 million. Their families deserve the $5 million given to the family of Capitol insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt, multiplied by two because of slanderous lies against their name made by high-ranking Trump Administration officials.
Full Congressional investigations into the deaths of the dozens of other victims who perished in ICE custody, including testimony from victims who have survived abuse at the hands of DHS agents.
Full access given to local law enforcement and elected representatives to all ICE detention facilities.
In an America where the majority of us want to abolish ICE, these are moderate demands. These kinds of substantive demands are what politics should look like, negotiating for real results not only for the interests of your constituents but for the very soul of your nation. Mere reforms to ICE, like body cameras and enhanced training, are not signs of shrewd dealmaking but weak capitulations born out of naive trust in reforming agencies that now have a core culture of disrespect for following the rules and disregard for honoring the rule of law. With ICE on the retreat, we must completely cut off the supply lines of taxpayer money that have fueled the unconstitutional war machine that overran and nearly overwhelmed Minneapolis.
This is a moment for Democrats to redeem themselves, to show they have some principles, to demonstrate that they are worthy of representing the Americans who have risked life and limb to protest, march, speak out, and rally against this desecration of our Constitutional heritage. This is a moment when Democrats can restore our shattered faith in a party whose members of Congress have an abysmal job approval rating of 18%. Despite their sheepish fear of government shutdown, Democrats must realize that at this depth of disapproval, they cannot become less popular by holding the line and refusing to vote for any bill that funds a rogue Department of Home Security that has declared war on Trump’s political enemies and targeted any American with the courage to exercise their Constitutional rights to stand in ICE’s way. This is a matter of our most sacred, fundamental, inalienable rights as Americans. From the War of Independence to the Civil War to the World Wars fought against monarchs and dictators, Americans have sacrificed far more than an indefinite government shutdown to protect their fundamental rights. We, the People of the United States of America, have met this moment, and we are ready to fight for the liberties that have defined us as a nation over the past 250 years. Let’s see if the Democratic Party is strong enough to stand with us and stand their ground against DHS funding, even if it leads to a government shutdown with no end in sight.