Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Urging Republicans To Join Congressional Democrats In Passing Commonsense Reforms To ICE Immediately

Washington, D.C. - Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) today spoke on the Senate floor on ICE terrorizing communities across the country and urged Republicans to come to the table and negotiate commonsense reforms to rein in ICE and stop the violence. Below are Senator Schumer's remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Americans are crystal clear on how they feel about ICE - the status quo cannot continue. We hear it from people back home and all over the country. People are angry. They're afraid. They want accountability and an end to the chaos. The White House and Congressional Republicans must listen and deliver. Democrats have been very clear: we will not support an extension of the status quo, a status quo that permits masked secret police to barge into people's homes without warrants, no guardrails, and zero oversight from independent authorities. A rogue police force that doesn't obey the rules that every local police force and sheriff's office must obey. It's out of control. No American, regardless of party, supports having their taxpayer dollars fund a secret police force that operates without transparency or accountability. Democrats agree-we demand commonsense solutions, practical solutions, solutions that every police department in America abides by, to rein in ICE and stop the violence.

Now today, Tom Homan held another press conference in Minneapolis claiming that the surge in that city is going to soon conclude. He says a significant drawdown has been underway. But let me very clear-regardless of what Tom Homan says, ICE's abuses cannot be solved merely through executive fiat alone. We first and foremost need legislation. And that's what Democrats have said from the start-we need legislation to rein in ICE and end the violence. Without legislation, what Tom Homan says today could be reversed tomorrow on a whim from Donald Turmp. He could say, "go into that city, put your masks back on, you don't need a warrant." Without legislation, Donald Trump could choose to put a rogue force in any city he wants and have them operate without any guardrails.

So again, Democrats have been clear: we need legislation to truly halt ICE's abuses. We need legislation to rein in ICE and stop the violence. Otherwise, this administration could go right back to what they were doing. After weeks and weeks of the American people watching the horrors of Minneapolis, the administration felt the heat so now they're claiming they're pulling ICE out of that city. But the administration doesn't actually want to reform ICE. They will never do that on their own. That is why we need to have legislation to rein in ICE and stop the violence. And look, there's no reason why Republicans should reject what Democrats in the Senate and House are proposing. We simply want ICE to be required to follow the same standards that law enforcement agencies across the country already follow and effectively obey.

We need legislation on warrants. We need legislation on codes of conduct. We need legislation to stop secret, unidentified police-masks off, cameras on, and basic identification is a must. All of this happens in every other police department. Just about every police department in the country. So why do Republicans resist? Because ICE was created as a rogue force to terrorize people. And the American people don't really like that. Republicans should ask people back home: Do they think it's ok for federal agents to wear masks and run around our neighborhoods without any identity as to who they are? Do they think it's okay for ICE to tail school busses and use kids as bait to arrest their parents?

Of course, Americans don't think this is okay. It's simply not law enforcement. And I want to make something else very clear. A lot of attention recently has focused on Minneapolis, rightfully so. But ICE's abuses are happening all over the country, including in my city of New York. A few months back, there was an outrageous, violent raid in Canal Street where ICE swept vendors and residents indiscriminately, asking random people on the street to show their papers and detaining people in droves, including U.S. citizens. ICE agents in New York are patrolling around subway stations. A video recently circulated of ICE agents seemingly barging into someone's home in Queens without warrants.

They're lurking around courthouses, waiting to arrest people who show up for legally-mandated hearings. I heard a heart-wrenching story of a young man in Port Chester who was on his way to church when he got pulled over. At the station, he was about to be released when two federal agents showed up, asked to see his papers, and what started out as a Sunday drive to church ended up as a trip to a detention center in Louisiana. Sickening. That doesn't make America any safer. That only destroys the trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. So, enough is enough. Enough. Is. Enough. Democrats will keep pushing the administration and our Republican colleagues to rein in ICE and stop the violence through a smart, commonsense, practical legislative proposal. We must get it done and we're waiting for Republicans to join us.

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