Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Lambasting Senate Republicans For Inaction While Trump Further Empowers A Rogue And Dangerous ICE

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the Senate floor reprimanding Senate Republicans for allowing Trump to let ICE continue to operate with no reforms, in light of the agency's two fatal shootings over the last two weeks. Below are Senator Schumer's remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Two more people have been gunned down in the street by Trump's ICE agents, and all Republicans have done is shrug their shoulders and point fingers.

Senate Republicans know full well they were the ones who abandoned commonsense reforms to rein in ICE on multiple occasions.

Yesterday, Senator Collins of Maine tried pinning the blame on Democrats even though she voted against an amendment requiring ICE to wear body cameras just last month.

Absolutely shameless. Absolutely shameless.

If Republicans had accepted our proposal for body cameras, warrant requirements, use-of-force standards, training, and other basic reforms used by every law enforcement across the country, these killings could have been prevented.

Instead, Republicans jammed through a partisan bill that pumped tens of billions of dollars into Trump's rogue agencies without any restraints whatsoever.

So it was Senate Republicans who chose not to make reforms to ICE as Democrats tried to push them. Americans know exactly who to blame for unleashing the chaos on the streets.

Where were Senate Republicans when Trump immediately reinstated the vehicle stops policy that led to these killings?

Where were Senate Republicans when the administration said ICE agents had "absolute immunity" after the Minneapolis murders?

Where were Senate Republicans when we gave them opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to reform ICE?

There is blood on the streets, and the blame is on Senate Republicans.

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